The Prelate of the Methodist Church Nigeria, His Eminence, Samuel Kanu-Uche, who was abducted by hoodlums in Abia State, has said the church paid N100 million to secure his freedom.
In an interview on Tuesday in Lagos, the cleric said that he was beaten by his abductors.
He explained that the gang threatened to kill him if the N100 million was not paid.
Kanu-Uche was abducted on Sunday along the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, in the Umunneochi Local Government Area of Abia State.
He was kidnapped alongside his chaplain, Very Rev. Abidemi Shittu, and the Bishop of Owerri, Rt. Rev. Dennis Mark.
Meanwhile, Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, has attributed the safe release and return of the kidnapped Prelate to divine intervention.
The Prelate was released alongside the Methodist Bishop of Owerri, Rt. Rev. Dennis Mark, and his (the Prelate’s) chaplain 24 hours after they were kidnapped.
Sharing his excitement about the development in a statement on Monday by his Chief Press Secretary, Sir Onyebuchi Ememanka, the governor stated that their release was through “grace of God, the fervent prayers of the Christian Community and the well-coordinated response from security agencies in Abia State.”
The statement read, “The Governor is grateful to God for His saving grace upon the Prelate of who is a son of Abia State.
“Ikpeazu assured that security will be stepped up around the Isuikwuato – Umunneochi axis of the State where there has, in the recent past, been a spike in the activities of criminals.
“The location of the area around the state’s borders with 4 states of Imo, Anambra, Enugu, and Ebonyi make it attractive to criminals who easily enter the State and also escape through any of these routes.
“The Governor called for Inter State Collaboration with the neighboring states in securing those areas and stamp out the activities of criminals there.”
Police spokesman Abia State Command, Geoffrey Ogbonna, had confirmed the release of the victims on Monday.
He said, “They have regained their freedom but details are not yet available.”
Ogbonna, however, noted that he could not give details as to whether a ransom was paid to secure the release of the kidnapped victims or not.
The cleric and the two other victims were returning from a programme in the Umunneochi Local Government Area of Abia State when the gunmen laid a siege to their vehicles and whisked them away.
As the news of the kidnapping became public knowledge, it threw the Methodist Church, and the Christian Association of Nigeria, among other religious bodies, into prayer for their safe return home.
The Senator representing Abia North at the National Assembly, Orji Uzor Kalu, also pleaded with Imo and Abia States to ensure the release of the Prelate and the other two other victims.
However, in a statement on Monday, the Secretary of the Conference, the Rt. Revd. (Dr.) Michael Akinwale, said the abductors demanded N100 million ransom for the release of the kidnapped clerics.
The statement read in part: “The devastating news of the abduction of our Prelate, the Bishop of Owerri, and the Prelate’s Chaplain has left everybody in shock.
“This is a period of trial in which the Church must cry out that ‘The Lord that answereth by Fire’ must be our God to destroy all the manipulations of the adversary.
“Let us all arise and cry out to the Lord! As we engage in Prayer Warfare, this serves to notify you that the abductors have demanded a ransom of N100m.
“In view of the urgency and the dire need to arrest the situation for the safety of our Prelate and other abductees, it has become imperative to seek your urgent response to raise the N100m ransom.
“The safety of the Prelate and other abductees must be of paramount concern to all, and your contributions spiritually and monetarily shall not go unrewarded.”
The Christain Association of Nigeria, in a statement signed by Pastor Adebayo Oladeji, the Special Assistant, Media and Communications, to the CAN President, Rev. Dr Samson Ayokunle, had condemned the abduction as he called on the Federal Government and security agencies to stop the incessant abduction of clerics and other innocent Nigerians forthwith.
“This is no more a country one can be proud of. No reasonable government can continue to leave the citizens in a terrible state of insecurity as we are presently. This situation is not good for our nation at all,” the statement read in part.
The Punch
