Abducted Priest Found Dead Near Council Secretariat

The abducted Catholic Priest and Vicar General of Otukpo Diocese, Rev. Fr. John Adenyi, has been found dead by the police in a bush few kilometres away from the Ogbadigbo Local Government Area Secretariat in Otukpa. The Vicar General was abducted on April 24 by unknown persons along Otukpo-Enugu road while returning to Otukpo, his base, after a church service in Otukpa area of Ogbadibo Local Government Area. The state Governor, Samuel Ortom, disclosed this during the town-hall meeting he held with Igede people yesterday at the College of Education Oju, auditorium as part of his ongoing stakeholders’ meeting. Ortom said the cleric’s skeleton was discovered last Tuesday in Otukpa, three kilometres away from the road, adding that he had directed the police and medical personnel to collect the skeleton for post-mortem.

Paying respect to the dead priest, the governor asked the people to observe one minute silence for the repose of the soul of Adeyi, as he vowed that the abductors and killers of the Reverend must be brought to book. The families of the Catholic priest had paid the N2million ransom agreed by the suspected kidnappers three days after he was kidnapped only for the suspects to switch off contacts. The state governor had announced N5million reward for information about the discovery of the priest.

Reliable sources disclosed that the late priest may have been killed by a kidnap syndicate which had its base in Kogi State.

According to one of the sources, the recent release of one abducted medical doctor by the kidnappers may have blown their lead since some of them were said to have been arrested by the police.

They were alleged to have kept their victims at Upu village in Otukpo and move them out mostly at night to prevent them from knowing their location.