A pastor popularly known as “One Way” and another worshipper have been abducted by suspected kidnappers while praying on a mountain in the Byazin Millionaire Quarters area of Kubwa, within the Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
THE WHISTLER gathered that the incident occurred at about 10:00 a.m. on Sunday.
Sources in the community told THE WHISTLER that the pastor had gone to the prayer site with another person when armed men stormed the area and whisked them away to an unknown destination.
It was gathered that members of the pastor’s family, including his wife and children, had repeatedly warned him against going to the mountain because of the growing insecurity in the area. They had previously accompanied him to the prayer ground but later stopped doing so.
A community source disclosed that the kidnappers later contacted the pastor’s family using his mobile phone and demanded a ransom of N40m for his release.
“The abductors called the family with the pastor’s phone and demanded N40.. The family had warned him several times not to continue going to the mountain because of the security situation, but he insisted,” the source said.
The source further alleged that when family members reported the incident at the Byazin Police Division, they were directed to the FCT Police Command. However, upon getting there, they were reportedly referred back to the divisional headquarters.
Residents expressed concern over the worsening security situation in the Byazin community, describing the latest abduction as another indication of the growing threat posed by kidnappers in the area.
Efforts to obtain a reaction from the spokesperson of the Federal Capital Territory Police Command, Josephine Adeh were unsuccessful, as calls and other attempts to reach the Police Public Relations Officer were not answered.
As of the time of filing this report, security agencies had yet to issue an official statement on the abduction, and it remained unclear whether any rescue operation had been launched.
