- A pastor of Assemblies of God Church, Ikorodu, Lagos state, was kidnapped along Calabar-Itu Highway last weekend
- The kidnappers have reached out to the family of the victim, demanding N50m ransom
- The pastor was reportedly returning from an inspection visit to his projects sites when he was abducted
The abductors of a pastor of Assemblies of God Church, Ikorodu, Lagos state, Rev Ekpenyong James, have demanded a ransom of N50 million.
The gunmen abducted the pastor at Okurikang Junction, along Calabar-Itu Highway last weekend.
The clergyman, an indigene of Isong Inyang village in Odukpani local government area of Cross River state, was said to be constructing a school, hospital and palm plantation in his hometown when he was abducted.
A source, who spoke to Vanguard on anonymity, said that the pastor was returning from an inspection visit to the projects sites when he was abducted.
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The source said: “The abductors have made contact with the family and they are demanding N50 million ransom for his release. They think because the man is undertaking many projects, he has some huge amount of money stashed away somewhere.”
When contacted, the state police public relations officer, ASP Irene Ugbo, who confirmed the incident, said the Police was working actively to ensure the pastor’s safe release.
Ugbo said that the lady who was with the pastor at the time of the incident is being investigated, as she was the first contact and suspect.
She said: “The lady who was with him at the time he was kidnapped said when the men came to drag him out of the vehicle, he was making calls.
“People ran away and she went to hide somewhere; you know that this is a serious matter and we are not leaving any stone unturned. We want to get to the root of the matter.
“She is our first contact and suspect. We’re investigating her because the next day we contacted his wife and the DPO got some useful information from her.
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“By the grace of God, we are working on it and he will be released very soon; we are hopeful because we are closing in on them.”
NAIJ.com previously reported that after regaining their freedom following 53 days in captivity, the six Catholic sisters from the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus Convent in Edo state told their captors that they had been forgiven.
The development was made public at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Benin, the state capital, where the sisters spoke during their thanksgiving mass.
Speaking on behalf of her fellow nuns, one of the victims, Isiocha, said the experience had increased their faith in God, even though it was traumatic.
NAIJ.com visits kidnappers' den discovered in Lagos - on NAIJ.com TV:
Source: Naija.ng