A Nigerian Christian leader admitted that his church paid a $240,000 ransom to secure his release from unknown persons after he was kidnapped in recent days, Voice of America (VOA) reported on Wednesday.
Samuel Kanu-Uche of the Nigerian Methodist Church told reporters on May 31 that his church paid a ransom that successfully freed him and two other priests who were kidnapped on May 29 along with Kanu-Uche. A group of clergy were driving the car. Their vehicles were fired upon on Sunday in Abia state in southeastern Nigeria.
“Eight gunmen ambushed them on their way to the airport in Abia state on Sunday and periodically fired at their vehicles before taking them hostage. The cleric and another church member managed to escape the attack, Voice of America reported on June 1.
This week, radical Islamists attacked the northeastern Nigerian town near Lake Chad, killing three soldiers and taking hundreds of villagers hostage. https://t.co/h17X2ix2QJ
– Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) 22 August 2020
“Kanu-Uche said that before demanding ransom, the abductors showed them the decomposed bodies of abducted victims and threatened to do the same to him,” the US government-funded broadcaster said.
Chibuzo Opoko, an archbishop who heads a Methodist church in Nigeria’s Abia state, told reporters on June 1 that he believes a ransom must be paid to free Kanu-Uche.
“They wouldn’t have released them if they didn’t, it wasn’t security that intervened,” he said, referring to the Nigerian security forces.
The Nigerian government officially opposes paying a ransom for the release of kidnapping victims, arguing that this action empowers the kidnappers. In April, the Nigerian Senate passed a bill that would punish those found guilty of paying the kidnapping ransom with at least 15 years in prison. The law provides persons convicted of kidnapping with additional punishment, with the death penalty if the victim dies during the kidnapping. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has yet to sign the bill.
If the law is approved by the executive branch, it will replace Nigeria’s current anti-terrorism law.
Multiple unidentified militants raided a crowded market in northern Nigeria, killing at least 43 people and injuring many more. https://t.co/PZDCySxkiK
– Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) 20 October 2021
The Nigerian Senate has passed the Kidnapping Act as part of efforts to combat the growing number of kidnappings and ransom demands by various “bandits”, terrorists and criminals across nearly all of Nigeria in recent years.
“How effective will this law be when security forces don’t do their best?” Opoko asked reporters on June 1, referring to the April 27 kidnapping law.
“In the last two years, armed groups and criminals have kidnapped hundreds, possibly thousands, of people across Nigeria for ransom. UNICEF reports that this number includes at least 1,500 students who have been kidnapped in north-central and north-west Nigeria since the end of 2020.
Source: Breitbart
