Pastor in kidnap mess!*How he used church as detention centre, asked for N50m ransom
Written by SAMUEL OYADONGHA
Sunday, November 16, 2008






Who would have believed that a pastor would have anything to do with kidnapping? This is a poser many would dismiss with the wave of the hand but to hear that the sanctuary of the living God could be turned into an abduction camp by commercial hostage takers with the connivance of a pastor is certainly a cause for concern. And that exactly is the puzzle the police are working round the clock to unravel in the predominantly riverine Bayelsa State.


Yenagoa—PERHAPS, if the pastor at the centre of the storm, identified as Archibong Bassey, was not involved in the drama that shocked all those present at the Bayelsa State Police Command, last Monday, the heinous crime would have been concealed as their victim could have been murdered without any trace of the kidnappers. But God, in a miraculous way, used the same pastor, who is now cooling his heels in police custody alongside other suspects, to thwart the evil machination of the initiator of the kidnapped plot identified as Sola Saka, a close friend of the family of their victim.

For the Roberts family of Tungbo community in Sagbama Local Government Area of the state, they would forever be grateful to God for sparing the life of their child who was held in captivity for eight days. Some other victims in similar circumstances were not that lucky to return home to their parents and peers. Trouble started for the pastor, an indigene of Cross Rivers State, and his accomplice identified as Fatai Okunola and Sola Saka.

Little Collins, aged 6, a primary four pupil of Ayakpo Nursery and Primary School and son of Mr. Ebidamowei Roberts, an accountant with Bayelsa State Treasury Office of the Ministry of Finance, was abducted by Sola after luring the child away from his mother’s abode at Amarata in Yenagoa metropolis on October 16, 2008. Interestingly, the mastermind of the kidnap plot had earlier approached their victim’s father, known for his generosity, to solicit his assistance so as to enable him travel to his home state in the western part of the country to attend to a pressing family problem.

The senior Roberts was said to have given him (Sola) some money not knowing that he had concluded plan to invest the money in a kidnap plot that would turn out to a traumatic moment for his family. Armed with the money, the architect of the kidnap plot went to Collins mother’s home and took him away under the guise that he was taking him to his father’s place at Kpansia off Nikton Road in the capital city. But, unknown to the child, Sola had arranged a taxi to take them to Mbiama en-route Port Harcourt.

In order not to arouse the suspicion of other passengers, the kidnapper decided to change the taxis he boarded by stopping at Mbiama and taking another vehicle to somewhere in the outskirts of Choba in Rivers State where the first taxi he arranged was waiting to pick him and his victim (little Collins) to their final destination which turned out to be the pastor’s church in Port Harcourt.

Having succeeded in the first phase of the plot, the kidnappers now settled down to call their victim’s father’s mobile phone to tell him his son was in their custody and that he should pay N50million ransom for his release. Perhaps their conjecture might have been that raising the N50 million ransom wouldn’t be a problem for the grief-stricken father since he works in the state Treasury Office where most of the staff are known for their wealth. Before putting the call through, the kidnappers had worked out the sharing formula convinced that their victim’s father will play along with them.

Unrealistic demand

Sunday Vanguard gathered that the pastor, in whose custody the child was kept, was promised N5 million. But what the kidnappers failed to figure out was that the plot was doomed from the onset as their victim’s father does not have the resources to meet their demand. Upon discovery that the N50 million ransom was not realistic, the kidnappers were forced to bring down their demand to N15 million.

The plot, it was, however, learnt failed when the initiator of the plot came back to tell the pastor that his N5million share of the booty earlier promised was no longer possible and that he would be coming to pick up their captive from his (pastor) custody following the refusal of the boy’s father to play along. Worried that something terrible could be done to their victim, the pastor took the boy to the police in Port Harcourt whose officers later brought him to Yenagoa.

On getting to Yenagoa, the boy, who is familiar with the area, took the security operatives to his father’s house at Kpansia and fingered the now arrested Sola as the person who took him away from his mother’s home at Amarata. Narrating his experience to Sunday Vanguard, the relieved father of the abducted child said the kidnap of his child was a traumatic experience and that his return was a miracle. According to Roberts, those arrested by the police were identified by the boy as those involved in his abduction. He said that the issue of how to share the ransom if it was paid led to a dispute among the kidnappers and a change of heart by the pastor who reportedly dropped off the victim at a nearby police station.

Roberts added that his son informed the police that the arrested Sola, a close friend of the family, allegedly took him around 9.00 am on October 16. He (Sola) was reported to have hired a private car and moved the boy to Port Harcourt where he arranged with the pastor simply identified as David to hide their victim in his church. “On realizing that the game was up following my refusal to play along with them, the pastor took my son to the police station in Port Harcourt from where he was brought back home. The boy on returning home mentioned Sola as the person who took him away,” he said, prompting the police to launch a manhunt leading to his arrest and that Sola confessional statement led to the arrest of the pastor and his other cohort.

Parading the suspected kidnappers at Bayelsa State Police Command and three others involved in the kidnap of septuagenarian Madam Akara-ere Benamiesia, mother of the former coordinator of the state government owned security outfit, ‘Bayelsa Volunteers’, the deputy commissioner of police, Mr. Abayomi Akerelemale, said the suspects would be treated as armed robbers in line with the new directive from the inspector-general of police.

While calling all prospective kidnappers to turn a new leaf, he said, “We have a directive from the inspector-general of police that kidnappers should be treated as armed robbers. There are other legitimate means to make money instead of embarking on such criminal and dangerous act as kidnapping.” He, however, urged relations of kidnapped victims to stop paying ransom with a view to discouraging the heinous crime, adding that the suspects will be arraigned before a court of law.


http://odili.net/news/source/2008/nov/16/302.html

I think the pentecostal fellowship of Nigeria should go back to the drawing board and fish out the wolves among them. What do you think?

well, am thinking what your thinking

DeepZone:

I think the pentecostal fellowship of Nigeria should go back to the drawing board and fish out the wolves among them. What do you think?

Well you would be shocked that most of them are wolves of varying degrees, that asides the PFN as no control over the operations of most of these criminals parading as Pastors/ ministers of the Gospel

Well you would be shocked that most of them are wolves of varying degrees, that asides the PFN as no control over the operations of most of these criminals parading as Pastors/ ministers of the Gospel

Then they should push for a law that will enable non orthodox churches to be registered with them before they can be duly registered officially by CAC. I think it will reduce these problems.