Premium Times today spoke exclusively to
former president of the Christian Association
of Nigeria (CAN) and former primate of the
Anglican Church, Peter Akinola who was
kidnapped yesterday at gun point and freed
same day following a search party led by the
Ogun governor, Ibikunle Amosun.
He revealed that the men took hostage of him
and his driver as he was leaving his office
along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
He said the four-men gang blocked his car, and
pulled him and his driver out at gun point. One
of the bandits then took over the steering
wheel while another member pinned down the
cleric and his driver at the back.
Two other gang members followed behind in a
Toyota Primera car they brought for the
operation.
“We could not even identify the road the
bandits were taking us through as we were
ordered to lie face down or else they would
blow us up,” the former CAN leader said.
As Mr. Akinola and his driver were held to the
ground, the car continued to navigate
territories unknown to the clergyman and his
driver.
Mr. Akinola believes the gunmen could have
driven him and his driver around for about 100
kilometres before their eventual release.
As they drove along, the abductors began
making demands for ransom, to be paid in
dollars, Mr. Akinola said.
“As the unpleasant journey was on, the bandits
requested ransom in dollars, threatening that
failure to offer the foreign currency would
attract death,” the retired prelate recalled.
“But I told them am a retired pastor living in
the village and that I don’t have money, that I
live on pension, that I’ am building the centre
with the help of friends around the world and
that I don’t have money.”
Mr. Akinola said the gang then ransacked the
vehicle and when they didn’t find any money,
they, in disappointment, decided to release
their captives.
“After about a 100-kilometer journey, they
stopped and asked us to come down, in an area
we don’t even know the terrain,” he said.
“The gang then asked us to go into different
directions into the bush.
“I took to the right hand side,while my driver
took to the left hand side, and we had to use
our hands to clear the bush, while the gang
later left with the car. I just kept praying for
safety,” the cleric said.
He said some minutes later, he found himself
on the main road and that as he was
wondering about the “angel” that would take
him home, a detachment of police officers
arrived, firing gunshots.
“I saw a police vehicle coming and there were
gunshots, and the police team later came to
rescue me from the spot,” Mr. Akinola said.
Mr. Akinola commended the police and the
Ogun state governor for promptly swinging
into action to rescue him and his driver.
“The police honestly impressed me, they did
wonderfully well,” he said. “I have to praise
them, and I appreciate the governor who left
his work to the bush looking for us. It’s
unprecedented for a governor to personally
lead a team into the bush. He risked his life
and yet he didn’t mind that. I’ am deeply
touched and impressed.”
Mr. Akinola beamed with smiles for most of the
time this interview lasted and his narrations
were intermittently punctuated with praises to
God.
The driver, Jonah Amodu, in his own
narration, recalled that he was about to take
off with his boss, when he noticed a strange car
a distance away, with four men inside.
He said the driver of the car suddenly stopped
with two gun-wielding men jumping out.
He said he was ordered out of the driver’s seat
while one of the men took over the steering of
the primate’s Land Cruiser Jeep.
“They ordered me and my oga to lie face down
at the back and immediately drove off,” Mr.
Amodu said. “We didn’t even know where we
were heading to. I was even hit with gun on my
back as they asked us to cooperate with them.”
Mr. Amodu recalled that after the long
unpleasant journey, the bandits at a point
dropped them and asked him and his boss to
take different directions into the bush, stating
that, it was a place he could not even identify if
taken to the area any other time.
“I trekked inside the bush, before luckily I got
to a road, and then later located an Anglican
Church in the area, where I narrated our
plights to the church officials who immediately
rose up to the challenges,contacting relevant
personalities before our final rescue,” he said
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