After five days in captivity, two Catholic priests who were kidnapped by gunmen in Agbarho-Otor, Delta State have breathed the sweet air of freedom.
The priests, Rev. Fr. Chochos Kunav and Rev. Fr. Raphael Ogigba, was set free yesterday afternoon, it was learnt. They were reportedly kidnapped last Saturday night.
Fr. Ogigba, who is the parish priest of St. Francis Catholic Church, Agbarha-Otor, in the Catholic Diocese of Warri, was playing host to the visiting Fr. Kunav, a missionary priest of the Schoenstatt order. Both clerics had visited their colleague in the area and were returning to base when the hoodlums struck and whisked them away. A senior priest in the diocese confirmed their release yesterday.
It was not clear if ransom was paid to free the hostages, as the hoodlums had earlier demanded N20 million as ransom. However, the leadership of the Catholic Church in Nigeria had long ago made its stand known that payment of ransom should never be encouraged.
When contacted in Asaba, Public Relations Officer of the state police command, DSP Bright Edafe, said his office was yet to be briefed about the release of the priests at the time of this report. Edafe promised to get back to Daily Sun as soon as he gets updated with the cheering development.
