Suspected kidnappers have killed the chaplain to the Bishop of the African Church, Ondo Central Diocese, Revd. David Ayeola.
The gunmen shot Ayeola dead in a botched
rescue operation after the church declined to pay the N100m ransom the
kidnappers demanded.
The African Church had offered N500,000 instead.
ERICGOSSIP Metro learnt that the remains of the victim had been deposited in a morgue.
Our correspondent gathered that Ayeola,
the bishop, Samuel Ojo; and the bishop’s wife were travelling to
Abeokuta, Ogun State, from Imojo Ekiti, Ekiti State, when they were
waylaid by the gunmen on the road.
The bishop, his wife, Ayeola, and the driver of the car were said to have fled into the bush.
A source said, “While others escaped, the chaplain was caught and abducted by the gunmen.
“They later contacted the headquarters
of the church at Akure and demanded N100m. The church, however, offered
them N500,000, which they turned down.”
Another top leader of the African Church
said the church’s leadership involved the Ekiti State Police Command in
the rescue of the priest.
He explained that while trying to buy time with negotiation, the police also closed in on the hideout of the abductors.
“On Saturday, the police swooped on the hideout of the kidnappers and there was an exchange of gunfire between them.
“The police team was overpowered and the
kidnappers decided to shoot the priest. He was shot in the side; they
(kidnappers) left his corpse behind. The family has taken the body to
the morgue,” he added.
When contacted, the Diocesan Public
Relations Officer, Alex Akande, said he could not talk about the
incident, adding that the church’s leadership would meet on Monday
(today).
He said, “The case is with the police. I
don’t want to divulge too much information because I need to get
clearance from the church’s headquarters. We will be having a meeting
tomorrow (Monday); maybe I can talk after that.”
No comments:
Post a Comment