The presiding minister of ECWA Church, Reverend Timothy Omole, whose wife was among the 5 people who recently died in bandits custody, has revealed that the bandits collected ransom payments and food items from the family before demanding for a far larger sum.
Speaking from 0:52 on Arise TV, Reverend Omole said, “They started with a ransom of 1 billion. But after so much pleading, and we agreed, they allowed us to bring 20 million, five bags of rice, four kegs of petrol, one packet of Maggi, one jerrycan of red oil, and hard drugs worth 48,000 naira. Then on Saturday they called us that the money they collected from us was too small and that their boss said he cannot collect that money from us. So we should go and look for 300 million.”
Days after that demand, Reverend Omole received the devastating confirmation that his wife had died in captivity, making the bandits’ rejection of the ransom all the more heartbreaking.
Despite his grief, the pastor expressed deep gratitude to the Christian organisations that rallied around his family during the ransom arrangements.