Gunmen kidnap RCCG pastor in Bayelsa, demand N30m

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Gunmen have abducted a pastor with the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Mark Christmas, in Bayelsa State.

PUNCH Metro learnt that Christmas, who heads the New Anointing Chapel parish, was abducted alongside two of his church members in his hometown, Biseingbene community, in the Ekeremor Local Government Area of the state.

The wife of the pastor, Evelyn, said her husband, who heads the church in Yenagoa, was lured to the Biseingbene community under the pretext of attending an emergency meeting with his kinsmen in the area.

According to Evelyn, her husband was kidnapped with two other persons (church members) on October 18.

She said, “We reside in Yenagoa. On that fateful day, my husband was invited to Biseingbene for a meeting with the abductors.

“When he got to the community, he found out that the invitation for a meeting was part of a false and devilish plan to kidnap him. My husband has spent over two weeks in their den.”

It was learnt that the kidnappers had contacted the pastor’s family and demanded N200,000 as cost for phone calls made and N30m as ransom for his freedom.

She added, “It has been almost two weeks and I have not heard or seen my husband, but some of our family members, who live in the village told me that they had spoken with them.

“I planned to contact the police but the family members said that I should not involve the police to avoid incurring the wrath of the kidnappers.

“Their reason is that my husband may be killed by the hoodlums if the police are involved in the matter. It is very painful.

“I am worried and I am praying that my husband will come back alive.”

When contacted on the development, spokesman for the Bayelsa State Police Command, Mr. Asinim Butswat, said the family had not reported the matter to the police

“They have not reported the incident to us, but if they come to us, we are ready to help them,” Butswat said.

Source: Punch