A popular Bishop of the African
Church, Rt. Revd. Samuel Ojo, yesterday narrated how he escaped abduction by
the whiskers.
He also lamented the killing of
his Chaplain, Revd. David Ayeola, by suspected kidnappers in Ekiti State.
Ayeola was kidnapped by
gunmen while travelling with the bishop, his wife and the driver.
The police were attempting to
rescue the 26-year-old cleric when he was shot dead by the gunmen, who
immediately fled the scene.
The kidnappers had demanded N100m
ransom, but the church offered N500,000.
Recounting the attack that led to
the capture of Ayeola, he said, “My in-law, an indigene of Ayegbaju Ekiti, had
died and my wife, the chaplain, as well as my driver followed me to the village
last Tuesday in preparation for the burial.
“We went to my hometown in Imojo
Ekiti. Around 6pm, we left the village to return to Ayegbaju, venue of the
burial. However, when we got to a place between Imojo and Oye Ekiti, some
masked gunmen emerged from the bush, blocked the road and started shooting
continuously.
“Our driver attempted to turn
back, but he discovered that members of the gang were also coming from the
back. He suddenly drove into the forest. Myself, my wife, the reverend, and the
driver ran into the bush. I told them to run for their lives and we fled in
different directions. I crawled in the forest like a snake for hours.”
He explained that he and his
wife, together with the driver, later emerged in another town at different
times, from where they informed villagers and relatives about the incident.
He said late in the night, he was
informed that the kidnappers had called Akure, the church’s headquarters, to
demand the payment of the N100m ransom.
“Afterwards, the kidnappers
started calling me with the reverend’s phone number. From their accents, they
sounded like Fulani. They were threatening to kill him if we didn’t pay the
money. When I offered them N500,000, they insulted me and the church.
“Meanwhile, commissioners of
police in Ekiti and Ondo states had deployed policemen in the three divisions
surrounding the place to look for him. The hunters association in the town had
also moved into the forest to search for him.
“On Saturday, I was called by the
kidnappers and I told them that we were looking for the money. By 11pm, some
indigenes who went to their farm, sighted three men with guns. They saw the priest
with them. They informed the police and that was how the police and the hunters
invaded the forest to rescue him,” he added.
He explained that the policemen
and the kidnappers engaged in a shootout, saying the police later backed off in
order not to endanger the life of the hostage.
Ojo said the gunmen shot and
killed the priest.
“I ordained him in 2015. He was
the best at the college of theology in his set. He was an excellent and vibrant
preacher of the gospel. We are all saddened by his death. We want the police to
get the suspects and bring them to book. This is a great loss to the church,”
he added.
The Ekiti State Police Public
Relations Officer, Adeyemi Ademola, said the police were yet to arrest any
suspect, adding that investigations were ongoing.
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