The children, who are siblings, were abducted from their home while they were sleeping at night, according to the police.
The police in Anambra State, south-east Nigeria, said they have rescued four children who were abducted by gunmen in the state.
The police spokesperson in the state, Tochukwu Ikenga, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday which was made available to PREMIUM TIMES.
Mr Ikenga, a deputy superintendent of police, said the victims, aged between 13 and 21, were abducted on Friday in Achalla, Enugwu Agidi, a community in Njikoka Local Government Area of the state.
How they were abducted
The police spokesperson said the police at the Abagana Police Divisional Headquarters received a distress call from the victims' mother at about 11 p.m. on Friday who informed them that their children had been abducted.
He quoted the mother as saying that she and her husband were watching television at about 10 p.m. on the night of the incident when the light in their house suddenly went off.
The parents, feeling suspicious, stepped outside to find out what was amiss. They saw three gunmen suspected to be herders, and they (the parents) fled their home, according to the statement.
"By the time they summoned courage to return to the house, they discovered that their four children who were already asleep had been abducted by the gunmen," the police spokesperson said.
Rescue
Mr Ikenga said the Commissioner of Police in Anambra State, Aderemi Adeoye, as soon as he received a report of the attack, ordered immediate mobilisation of police operatives and vigilantes "to go after" the abductors to rescue the victims.
The police spokesperson said the victims were rescued in the early hours of Saturday, close to Urum, about 25 kilometres from their home.
He did not, however, mention how the children were rescued.
"The children have been reunited with their parents while the dragnet for the armed herdsmen is being extended to neighbouring communities," he said.
He said the police commissioner has warned that the police are ready to deal with kidnappers in the state.
"Meanwhile, security has been beefed up in the area to forestall a reoccurrence," he said.
