By Rotimi Ojomoyela
Ado-Ekiti
The Catholic Community in Ekiti state yesterday heave a sigh of relief as a priest, Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Akingbade, who was kidnapped by three gunmen in Ido Ekiti, last week,has regained his freedom.
Fr. Akingbade was abducted by the gunmen on June 9, at St. Benedict’s Catholic Church, Ido Ekiti, around 8pm and taken to unknown destination.
The Bishop of Ekiti Diocese, Most Rev. Felix Ajakaye, who confirmed the report, said no ransom was paid before the priest was released, but added that the abductors had demanded N200m as ransom.
On how the priest regained his freedom, he said: “This morning we thank God, we saw him, God did it and I thank everybody for their prayers because we rely on God, we believe in God and God can do anything.
“But we told our people not to abuse the abductors because we wouldn’t want the abductors to be cursed and we want things to change for the better in our state, the state of honour, and Nigeria as a whole. What happened to Fr. Akingbade happened to every member of the Church, so all over the world people were praying.
“They were even threatening that they would kill him and I told them that on the day he was ordained he had sacrificed himself. But we were still negotiating. They asked me how much we could afford, I said even one kobo, we cannot afford.
“We thank God, God took control, we told them we would be praying, that we would not even curse them. I told them that they should know that they are children of God, that Father should be released unconditionally, that we are not paying them.”
He said the security operatives must be well equipped to be able to tackle the various security challenges confronting the country.
Though unconfirmed reports said that local hunters rescued the priest, but the bishop said he was not aware of that.
He, however, appreciated security operatives in the state for their efforts while searching for the priest.
When our correspondent visited the bishop’s residence on Tuesday, sympathisers; including the pupils of St. Joseph’s Nursery Primary School, led by their teachers and Rev. Sisters were seen jubilating.
Our correspondent was unable to get the reaction of the police as at the time of filing the story yesterday as repeated calls put across to the Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Alberto Adeyemi, were not picked.
