A severely pregnant woman scheduled to give birth soon has been kidnapped in Kogi State, along with eight other Jehovah’s Witnesses.
The nine Jehovah’s Christian Witnesses were on their way to Lokoja, the state capital, for an annual Circuit Assembly when they were kidnapped on Kabba-Lokoja Road on Saturday, February 17, 2024.
Two women, four men, and two female students have been taken. They had taken off from a Kingdom Hall in Kabba on Saturday morning, hoping to join their brothers and sisters from other areas of the state for the spiritual banquet, only to be abducted.
According to Daily Trust, the kidnappers initially demanded N30 million but then reduced it to N2.6 million after negotiations.
“They also threatened to kill two of them, and would tell where their corpse would be found, if the ransom is not paid today,” a distressed source who spoke with News Express this Wednesday morning disclosed.
Mr. Elupo Eliazer, husband to one of the victims, said the kidnappers have made contact with the family with their demands.
He said: “They called to demand first for N30 million but later reduced it to N2.6 million after negotiation.
“My wife and I were travelling to attend our church convention scheduled for Lokoja, but I decided to follow a different vehicle as the Toyota bus could not contain all of us, else I would have been in the car with her.”
Eliazer, who is a Person With Disability, said the vehicle his wife travelled with was ahead of the one he was in but that all the occupants of the bus were already marched in to the bush before the vehicle he boarded got to the spot.
He said the kidnappers had warned them not to inform or involve the police.
When contacted by newsmen, the Kogi State Police Public Relations Officer, William Aya, promised to find out and get back with the details later.