The Chairman, Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) in Kaduna State, Apostle Emmanuel Bako, has opened up on the Christmas Day abduction of himself and his wife, Cinty.
He explained that the abductors, who he said were mostly around 18 years old, spoke in Fulfulde (Fulani) language among themselves while they were in the bush.
According to him, they collected N4.5 million ransom before releasing them on Sunday.
Explaining how they were abducted, Bako told Sunday Punch, “I was in the house on the fateful day; I didn’t know these kidnappers were already operating on the road.
“They had a clash with the police but I didn’t know. I was coming out to re-park my car. So, it was later on they told me they thought that I knew about either the robbery or that attack or the firing that was going on at my gate.
“They said they thought I was requesting reinforcement against them or that I was trying to run away.
“So, as I was trying to re-park, they fired at my car directly twice. It was then that I knew that something was happening.
“Thank God, none of the bullets got me but I have some of the (expended) bullets with me right now. They picked me up. My wife was in the house, they went for her and we went into the bush.”
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He said that before taking them into the bush, the gunmen ransacked his house and carted away meat and other food items.
Asked to comment on the age of the gunmen, Bako said, “They are just around 18 years of age. Maybe the oldest of them should just be a little bit above 30.
“They are just young boys and they all spoke Fulani language, Fulfude. They only spoke Hausa with us but once they started communicating among themselves, it was in Fulfude.
“They claimed that the government abandoned them. I don’t understand what they meant by saying that the government abandoned them.
“They said they didn’t go to school; no cows and they don’t have means of survival. I just imagine that if I were a government official, it would have been terrible for me or if they knew that I have any connection with any government official, it would have been terrible for me.”
On ransom paid, Bako said, “They started with N20m then came down to N15m, N10m and then N7m. Eventually, we ended at N4.5m.
“My people were very concerned because of our age. And when they saw blood all over the car, they were afraid that I could have been injured seriously. They didn’t want to take chances with my health. There were blood splashes in the car but God protected me so much so that no single bullet touched me.”