Kidnappers free two abducted Kaduna reverends after their colleague dies in the bush

KIDNAPPERS who abducted three Christian clergymen In Kaduna last week have released them after 10 days in captivity with one of them dying in the bush during the ordeal due to his poor health.

 

On March 21, Reverend Emmanuel Dziggau, the president of the United Church of Christ in Nigeria, Reverend Yakubu Dzarma and Reverend Iliya Anto, were abducted along the Kaduna-Abuja Expressway where they had gone to clear a piece of land for the foundation of a church seminary. Yesterday, Reverends Dziggau and Dzarma were released unharmed although Reverend Anto was said to have died after he was left in the bush by the kidnappers.

 

One United Church of Christ official said Reverends Dziggau and Dzarma were freed on Wednesday night while the corpse of Reverend Anto was found, decomposing in the bush. According to the official, the two clergymen were immediately taken to a private hospital in Kaduna after they were brought to the church along Katsina Road, Kaduna.

 

“They were not looking very good and as soon as they brought them, a decision was taken that they needed to see a doctor, so they were taken to a private hospital in Kaduna for medical checkups. We don’t want people to disturb them until they are psychologically and physically fit to see people.

 

“The person who went to collect them, rode them on a bike from where they dropped them off for four hours before they could reach a motorable road. This was very traumatic and they need some rest,” the church source added.

He said a day after their abduction, the kidnappers had called to say that Reverend Anto was not well and they had dropped him at a location in the bush. However, when they dispatched people to the location to save him, they could not find him after combing the area.

 

Apparently, the kidnappers who had been watching them from their hideout said the church sent too many people to pick him, so refused to cooperate. However, the source declined to state whether a ransom was paid for the release of the two clergymen who regained their freedom.