with only his boxer shorts on"
The immediate past primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican
Communion), Dr. Peter Akinola on Christmas day recounted his ordeal in
the hands of the gunmen who abducted him on Tuesday in Abeokuta, the
Ogun State capital.
He said that the armed men took them to a forest where they took off
his shirt and shoes while they stripped his driver almost completely
naked, leaving him with only his boxer shorts on.
Akinola, his daughter and driver were on Tuesday afternoon waylaid and
whisked away by some gunmen in Abeokuta but were later in the day
rescued by the police.
Narrating his ordeals in the hands of his abductors to the
congregation at the Saint Saviour's Anglican Church, Abeokuta, where
he had gone for the Christmas and thanksgiving service with members of
his family, friends and well-wishers, Akinola stated that he and his
daughter as well as his driver were rescued by the benevolence of the
Almighty God.
The retired clergyman explained that he had gone to the secretariat of
the youth training center he established in Abeokuta to hand out
Christmas presents to the staff when two armed men suddenly appeared
and whisked the three of them away from the premises.
He said that their abductors took them far into a thick forest where
they rigorously interrogated him.
The Primate added that the gunmen queried them about the dollars in
the car, saying he told them he was a retired village priest and that
the SUV was presented to him as gift by his church members.
Expressing surprise at the rate at which the news of the incident
spread quickly, Akinola disclosed that Governor Ibikunle Amosun and
the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ikemefuna Okoye personally led
the search for him and others abducted by the gunmen.
According to the retired primate: "I left the house at about 11am to
go to our site where we are building structures to train young people
in Nigeria who are unemployed. The irony of it is that as I was coming
out of the place where I had gone to give food to our workers for
Christmas, as I was stepping out, these two young men came out of
their car from nowhere. They asked me to open the door, knocking the
glass with their guns.
"I instructed My driver, Jonah to open the door for them, they
sandwiched us at the back of the car and they drove off. They told us
to put our heads down and that they would blow off our heads if we
looked up. They drove for about an hour, where we didn't know until we
discovered that we were in the midst of a thick forest. Then I
requested to talk and informed them that there was no enough fuel in
the car.
"They queried us for not having enough fuel in the car and my driver
responded that we just returned from a journey. In the bush there, I
was suprised at how they were able to locate a filling station, bought
three thousand Naira fuel and we continued with the journey. That was
about three in the afternoon.
"They started asking questions about dollars but I said there was
none. I told them I was a village pastor that had just retired and
that the car was given to me by the church. They asked about the
security of the car and I told them there was none. They searched for
it for almost two hours but couldnt find anything.
"I was just praying that God of mercy come to our rescue; I was just
remembering how God saved some believers in the Bible and I concluded
that if I must die, how can it be in the hands of these people.
Unknown to us, the news had started circulating around and people
started praying. Meanwhile they had taken everything from us; they had
taken my shirt, my shoe and I was left with my singlet and trousers.
But my driver was not so lucky; his cloth, trousers and shoes were
taken and he was left with his boxer shorts.
"They said I should walk; when we moved about hundred meters from the
car, I was asked to take the left while my driver was asked to take
the right. While inside the bush, I was hearing how they were
threatening my driver.
"After a while we started hearing gun shot. Apparently, the police
were around. Later we learnt that the Governor himself with the
commissioner of police and the secretary to the state government led
the rescue team. When we no longer heard any gunshot, I trekked back
to the footpath shouting for my driver.
"Not quite long I saw a vehicle coming, they approached me, I raised
my hands and told them it was my car they took and that I was looking
for my driver. They said they were policemen and that I should come
into the car.
He commended the leader and the entire team of the state anti-robbery
squad who he said engaged the gunmen in an exchange of fire before
they could be set free.
"The leader of the police team, the State anti robbery squad, they
called him TJ, was a wonderful man. For the first time in my life I
doff my hat for the police for their performance.
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