Adeboye Pleads as Five Redeemed Pastors are Abducted

• As a father, how do you think I should feel to hear that five of my children have been kidnapped?

Bennett Oghifo

General Overseer, The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye has called for prayers for the release of five ministers of the Church abducted by gunmen on Thursday.

He broke news of the abduction, yesterday, to his congregation at the Redeemed Camp along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

The General Overseer stated that the ministers were on their way to attend the RCCG Minister’s Conference, ahead of the church’s annual Holy Ghost Convention, which begins on Monday.

Adeboye said he felt bad like any father would on hearing that five of his children had been kidnapped. “As a father, how do you think I should feel to hear that five of my children have been kidnapped while on their way to attend the Minister’s Conference?”

Already, the acting Inspector General of Police, Muhammed Adamu, has directed officers and men to intensify rescue operation.

A statement yesterday, signed by the Force Public Relations Officer, Mr. Frank Mba, a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) said: “Intensified operations have commenced for the rescue of RCCG Pastors who were abducted along J3 Area of Ogere on their way to Lagos from the Eastern part of the Country.

“Tactical and operational assets of the Force have been deployed with the Commissioner of Police, Ogun State Command taking the lead-role in the search and rescue operations.”  

The IGP, while condemning the abduction of the clergymen, called for calm and vowed that the perpetrators would not go unpunished.

He, therefore, enjoined the public to avail the police with credible information that would assist in apprehending the criminals.   

The Inspector General’s call coincides with a statement by the Ogun State Police Command, yesterday that the police have closed in on the kidnappers and would soon rescue the victims, whose names were given as Chidioze Eluwa, Chiemela Iroha, Okoro Ohowukwe, Ndubisi Onwuabueze and Ibeleji Chidinma, said to be the only female among the victims.

The statement signed by the Ogun State Police Public Relations Officers, Abimbola Oyeyemi, said the State Police Commissioner, Bashir Makama led a strong operation team to the scene of the scene of the incident at J3 area of Ogere near Ijebu Ode.

The ministers were said to be riding on a commercial vehicle, and were abducted at a location known as J3 on the Ore-Ijebu Ode, Ogun State stretch of the Sagamu-Ore-Benin Road.

The statement added: “Information at our disposal indicates that some people were travelling in a commercial bus from the East and at a particular spot, some armed criminals came from the bush, forced the driver to stop and later abducted five of the passengers.

“Through surveillance, we have got to know their location, but we don’t want to attack them (kidnappers) so that we won’t put the victims’ lives in danger. Their lives are more important to us. By the grace of God, we will rescue the victims.”