The Nobel Peace Prize winner said on Sunday that Guanipa, leader of the Justice First party, was taken in the Los Chorros neighbourhood of the capital Caracas.

“Heavily armed men dressed in civilian clothes arrived in four vehicles and took him away by force,” she wrote on social media early on Monday.

A former vice-president of the National Assembly, Guanipa spent eight months in prison and was among several political prisoners released since the US seized Venezuela’s then-President Nicolas Maduro in January.

His centre-right party said Guanipa had been kidnapped by the “repressive forces of the dictatorship” while he was moving between locations.

They added that those accompanying him said weapons were pointed at the group before Guanipa was loaded into a car.

“We hold Delcy Rodríguez, Jorge Rodríguez, and Diosdado Cabello responsible for any harm to Juan Pablo’s life,” Justice First wrote on social media, referring to Venezuela’s interim president, the National Assembly speaker, and the interior minister respectively.

The party also called on the international community to demand the “immediate release” of Guanipa and an end to the Venezuelan government’s “persecution of the opposition”.

Just hours earlier, Guanipa’s son Ramón was celebrating his father’s release on social media: “Our entire family will be able to hug again soon.”

Guanipa was among at least 30 people who had been freed on Sunday, according to Foro Penal, which provides assistance to political prisoners in Venezuela.

The leader of the Justice First party, he was elected governor of the Zulia region in 2017 but barred from taking office after he refused to swear an oath before Maduro’s National Constituent Assembly.

Guanipa went into hiding after being accused of terrorism and treason for challenging the 2024 election result.

He was tracked down by Venezuela’s security forces and detained in May 2025.

Opposition and human rights groups say the government under Maduro had for years used detentions of political prisoners to stamp out dissent and silence critics.

The men were travelling on a major highway on Sunday in the south-eastern state of Abia when they were kidnapped, local police told the BBC.

It is not clear who is responsible, but separatist groups frequently carry out abductions in the region.

Police say they have launched a rescue mission to find the clerics.

Kidnappings, often for ransom, are common in many parts of Nigeria.

There has also been a resurgence of attacks by armed gangs, including Islamist militant groups in the north, as the country prepares for a general election next year.

Much of the unrest in Nigeria’s south-east region stems from separatists who are demanding a breakaway state.

The government blames the Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob) movement for many attacks in the region, which Ipob denies. But the group continues to enforce sit-at-home orders on Mondays, which are usually preceded by attacks on Sunday evenings to scare people into complying.

However it is not known who abducted the clergymen on Sunday, and a number of recent violent attacks in the country remain unsolved.

Recently a local MP was kidnapped by unknown gunmen. His headless body was later found.

In April, a male and a female soldier who hoped to get married were beheaded when they travelled to the region to inform their relatives about their planned wedding.

In a separate incident on Sunday morning, two people were abducted when gunmen entered their home in Lafia, Nasarawa state, near the capital Abuja. One person was shot dead during the attack.

Uche’s father, Kenneth Odoputa was abducted together with his friend in his home some three weeks ago.

According to the veteran actor, nothing has been heard from either his father or the abductors since he was picked up.

With the rise in cases of kidnapping and ritual killing in Nigeria, Uche fears for the worst.

He is, therefore, pleading with his fans to remember him in prayers and report to the authorities any information that could lead to his father’s release.

Video below:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by UCHENNA ODOPUTA (@ucheodoputa1)

The suspects have been identified as Kwame Boafo, Kwabena Ofori, Theophilus Larbi, Yakubu Adams, Musa Adanda, Edward Kwadwo and Benjamin Gbli.

The Police explained their intelligence on Monday, March 1, 2021, indicated Nana Brempong had been kidnapped to an unknown destination.

The Konongo Police were deployed to act on the information and their swift intervention saved the chief who had been held in an unregistered Honda Civic with a Toyota Matrix Cab at Kubease near Ejisu.

This was contained in a statement signed by the Regional Public Affairs Officer, ASP Godwin Ahianyo.

ALSO READ:

• Another daylight robbery hits Spintex as bullion van is attacked again

• Syndicate defrauds victims to the tune of GH¢250,000

“When rescued, there were injuries on some parts of his body and he was therefore issued with a hospital form to seek medical attention while suspects are in custody to assist the police with the investigation,” the statement said.

Read the full statement below:

Chief of the community, Nana Kwaku Duah, says though no native was involved, he and his people are worried about carrying a bad name for the rest of their lives.

“None of them [suspects] is from this town but it happened that the premises they used to hide these people is within Amoam-Achiase. We are praying to the Almighty God that it wouldn’t happen again,” Nana Duah said.

ALSO READ: ‘l re-constructed a crime scene sketch’ – witness

In his first public comment on the issue, he said the community owes Ghanaians and Canadian peoples, an apology for the unfortunate development.

“To be frank and sincere, I am awfully sorry about what has happened. I have to apologise to the Canadian government for what has happened,” he told Nhyira FM.

ALSO READ: Intercepted letter shows Parliament notified Presidency about new chamber

Lauren Patricia Catherine, 19, and Bailey Jordan Chitty, 20, were rescued by state security agents from their kidnappers in an uncompleted building at Amoam-Achiase, nearly a week after they were seized by some men at Ahodwo in Kumasi.

Five suspects who are said to have fired shots during the rescue operation were also arrested in the community.

And Nana Duah says it was an embarrassing moment to the community.

Source: Adomonline.com|Nhyira FM|Ohemeng tawiah