Bandits kill pastor kidnapped from farm after collecting ransom

Pastor in charge of Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), Nariya in Igabi local government ara of Kaduna State, Reverend Dauda Bature, has been killed by bandits after collecting undisclosed amount as ransom.

The man was said to have been kidnapped while working in his farm within the same Nariya area on Monday, November 8, a source said.

Subsequently, the bandits were said to have opened negotiation with the man’s wife and demanded for about N10 million ransom which the family could not raise as at that time.

“When some money was raised, they asked the wife to bring the money which she took to them on November 18. Then, they collected the money and kidnapped her.

“They kept her until Monday, December 6 and then released her to go and look for more money. From that time, they were not talking to the wife again but another person”, the source said.

Confirming the incident, Chairman, Kaduna branch of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Reverend Joseph Hayab lamented that the bandits are now ” cruel and brutal” to their victims, calling on the government to triple its efforts with superior power to put the frequent bloody attacks on harmless populace to check.

According to him, “on Thursday, they just called to tell the man that they had killed the pastor since they could not bring more money. The leadership of ECWA has been finding it difficult to break the information to the wife until yesterday (Friday) which was why people are just getting to know about it.

“What this means is that the bandits have become so cruel and brutal to their victims. They no longer have mercy.

“It shows our government needs to triple what it’s doing. These people cannot be defeated through rhetoric but by a superior fire. Despite the measures taking, they still continue their wickedness”, he decried. (Saturday Sun)