The Anglican Bishop of Jebba Diocese, Kwara State, Rt. Rev. Oluwaseun Aderogba, and his wife have been abducted by gunmen.
His driver was also taken by the hoodlums who struck on the new Oyo-Ogbomoso Expressway in Oyo State.
The bishop and his wife were said to be travelling from Yewa, Ogun State, to Jebba, Kwara State, when their car developed a fault at a lonely section of the road around 8.30pm on Sunday.
Before long, the gun-wielding hoodlums swooped on them and dragged them into the forest.
Sources said their abductors demanded a ransom of N50m.
The News Agency of Nigeria reported that the bishop’s chaplain, Rev. Adekunle Adeluwa, escaped from the hoodlums.
Adeluwa explained that they were ambushed by the gang after their vehicle developed a fault few kilometres to Oyo State.
He said, “I was lucky not to be visible to the kidnappers because of the black cassock I was wearing in the dead of the night.
“The place was dark, so I laid flat on the ground and hid while the abductors marched the bishop, his wife and the driver into the bush.”
The Kwara Province of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) condemned the kidnap.
The Arch Bishop of the Province, Most Rev. Israel Amoo, in a statement in Ilorin, lamented the incessant killing, abduction and kidnap of innocent Nigerians.
He called on the President, Major General Mohammadu Buhari (retd), the Inspector General of Police, and the Commissioner of Police in Oyo State to work towards the immediate and unconditional release of the kidnapped bishop, his wife and driver.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Adewale Osifeso, confirmed the abduction in a statement on Monday, adding that the command had swung into action to free them.
“The Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of operations of the command is in charge of the rescue operation that has commenced since 9pm on Sunday,” the statement added.
In a related development, the Catholic priest at St. Anthony’s Parish, Angware, in the Jos East Local Government Area of Plateau State, Rev. James Kantoma, has been kidnapped by gunmen.
Kantoma, who is also the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in the council, was abducted in his house on Sunday.
A resident of Angware community, Silas Joshua, confirmed the cleric’s abduction to PUNCH Metro on Monday.
Joshua said, “When the gunmen arrived in the community at night, they moved straight to the house of the reverend father.
“Some youths in the area, who were alerted, tried to stop them and even gave them a hot chase into the bush, but the gunmen started shooting and eventually took the reverend father away.”
The state Chairman of CAN, Polycarp Lubo, described the incident as sad.
He said, “Since the gunmen took the reverend father away, we have not heard anything either from him or the abductors. But we are praying for him that no harm will befall him wherever he is. But for how long shall innocent citizens continue to be kidnapped without anything being done to address the problem?”
The state police spokesperson, Alabo Alfred, said the command was aware of the incident and had deployed officers and men from the anti-kidnapping unit to the community.
NAN
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