The parish priest of St. Michael Catholic Church, Obajana, Kogi, Rev. Fr. Leo Michael, has been kidnapped by unknown gunmen in Kogi state.
Rev. Fr. Peter Adinoyi, the Diocesan Chancellor, Lokoja Catholic Diocese, confirmed the kidnap to newsmen in Lokoja on Thursday.
He disclosed that the priest was returning to Obajana from Okene when he was kidnapped on a spot at Irepeni village, Okene -Lokoja road.
According to him, the kidnap has been promptly reported at the Irepeni Police Station in Kogi
He added that the army and the Directorate of the State Security (DSS) were also aware of the development.
However, Adinoyi said that the kidnappers on July 25 called some members of the church to demand a N50 million ransom for the release of their priest.
He said that the kidnappers later reduced the ransom to N20 million and further reduced it to eight million.
Adinoyi said that the kidnappers gave the church up till 1:p.m. of July 26 to pay the ransom and threatened to relocate the priest should the church fail to meet the deadline.
He said that the church was unable to meet the deadline for the payment of the ransom demanded, calling on the security agents to assist in rescuing the cleric from his abductors.
Adinoyi also decried the incessant kidnapping of the less privileged in the state, describing the situation as unfortunate.
Read: Police React To Dino Melaye’s Alleged Abduction
The Public Relations Officer of the state police command, DSP William Aya, said that he was not aware of the incident and promised to find out and call back.
However, he failed to call back as at the time of this report
Also in Benue State, two persons were sentenced to death for abducting and killing a catholic priest in Benue last year. The suspect had originally asked for N2million but later reduced their demand to N1.5million. They however killed the priest even after the ransom had been paid; the court sentenced them to die by hanging.