Lagos Bishop & Wife Kidnapped, Abductors Demand N20m Ransom

Rt. Rev. Gabriel Adebanjo, the Bishop of the Lagos Central Diocese of the African Church and his wife, Dorcas (pictured above) were reportedly kidnapped in Delta State five days ago during a visit to Warri.

According to Punch, the kidnappers initially contacted the church demanding N100m which they later reduced to N50m. It was gathered on Thursday that the ransom had been further reduced to N20m following further negotiations with the church.

Church officials said that the bishop and his wife had gone to Delta State on Saturday, December 5, to attend an adult harvest programme, which was supposed to hold the following day, but they never made it to their destination.

The bishop, who took off from Lagos would have travelled by air but chose to travel by road in order to pick his wife from Ijebu-Ode in Ogun State where she works.

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It was gathered that when they got to Effurum Junction, a fire outbreak at a pipeline that had just been vandalised necessitated the diversion of traffic.

“They had to take another route. On their way, they stopped over at a party organised by a member of the House of Representatives. They had just left the gathering when they were kidnapped,” the church’s spokesperson, Chief Femi Adetona, said.

The kidnappers were said to have cornered the couple’s car along Adagbarasa Road as they were approaching Eku Osubi Road. While shooting sporadically in the air, they took control of the bishop’s official car, a Toyota Avensis, and sped off with the couple in it.

The vehicle was later abandoned many kilometres away after the kidnappers transferred them into another vehicle.

The bishop’s driver was said to have been shot in the process, sustaining serious gunshot injuries to his hand and leg. The church’s spokesperson, Chief Femi Adetona, however said the driver is now stable and the bullets have been removed.

He added, “We are still negotiating. They did not give us opportunity to speak with the bishop. We have mandated our members at Warri to continue the negotiation with them since they would understand their language better. But they give us regular updates as things unfold.”

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Church officials say they believe the bishop was a target of opportunity for the kidnappers, who might have had an informant at the gathering to tell them that someone important was in attendance.

Bishop Adebanjo, a native of Ijebu-Mushin, Ogun State, was said to have been transferred to the Lagos Central Diocese about three months ago from the Ikot Ekpene diocese which he was previously heading.

The police spokesperson in the state, Mrs. Celestina Kalu, said the police are taking appropriate steps to ensure their rescue.