The police have confirmed the kidnapping of an Anglican Bishop, his wife and driver by yet to be identified abductors in Oyo State, South-West Nigeria.
The development according to a statement made available to journalists in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital says, the Bishop, Rt. Reverend Oluwaseun Aderogba of the Jebba Diocese in Kwara State was in the company of his wife who is a technologist in the Department of Crop Protection at the University of Ilorin and their driver when he was kidnapped along the New Oyo-Ogbomoso Expressway on Sunday, June 12, 2022.
The state police public relations officer, SP. Adewale Osifeso says that on Sunday, the 12th of June, 2022 at about 2100hrs, one Reverend Adekunle Adeluwa reported to the Command through an incident report at Atiba Divisional Police Headquarters, Oyo town that at about 2030hrs, one Bishop, Rt. Reverend Aderogba of Jebba Diocese in Kwara State in the company of his wife and driver were kidnapped.
The statement further maintained that “Preliminary investigations reveals that the victim’s vehicle developed what seemed a mechanical fault while traveling from Yewa, Ogun State to Jebba, Kwara State enroute an isolated area along New Oyo-Ogbomoso Expressway.
The statement signed on behalf of the State Commissioner of Police, Ngozi Onadeko further stated that the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations of the Command is in charge of the rescue operation that has commenced since 2100hrs of Sunday
All the tactical teams of the Command Anti-Kidnapping Squad, Ambush Squad, Puff Adder, Police Mobile Force, Counter Terrorism Unit and Conventional Police personnel along with local hunters and vigilantes are all involved in the rescue operations.
Meanwhile, discreet investigation led by the State Criminal Investigation Department is simultaneously been vigorously embarked upon to ensure that the victims are rescued unhurt.
And in Ilorin, the Kwara State Diocesan Bishop of the Anglican Communion, Bishop Sunday Adewole who confirmed the development said the victims were kidnapped on Sunday evening when they were attempting to fix their faulty vehicle along the highway adding that the abductors have contacted the Church demanding the sum of N50 million as ransom.
Bishop Adewole who described the incident as a total collapse of the security architecture of the country said the political class is not sincere in addressing the issue but on winning the 2023 elections
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
