We still need N8m for ransom, Parents of abducted Ekiti pupils cry out

We still need N8 million for ransom. Parents of abducted Ekiti pupils cry out

Parents and relatives of the kidnapped pupils and staff of Apostolic Faith Group of School, Emure-Ekiti, have appealed to Ekiti State Governments to come to their aid to rescue the victims.

The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, rained the fire of God on the assassins of Ekiti traditional rulers on Friday night.

The gunmen had on Monday ambushed a bus conveying the schoolchildren and staff of the school back to their homes at Eporo on the road and whisked nine of the occupants away, leaving the bus on the road.

The kidnappers were said to have reached out to the families of the abducted pupils and demanded a N100 million ransom for each of the nine people held captive in their den.

The abductors, however, on Thursday reduced the ransom to N15 million for all the abductees, with a threat to kill the victims if the money was not paid on time.

But the embattled parents expressed fears on Saturday, while receiving representatives of the Ekiti State government, over the threat by the kidnappers that if they failed to pay the ransom on time, they would kill their children.

Mr. Adebisi Jegede, whose wife and 12-year-old son are in the kidnappers’ den, said that the kidnappers had promised not to accept anything less than N15 million as ransom.

Jegede, who said that the parents could see the efforts of individuals and communities, said, “With help here and there, we have realized N7m. We begged the kidnappers to accept N7M, but they refused. We are still looking for a sum of N8 million for it to be completed so that we can rescue these people.

“Whenever the kidnappers contact us on the phone, they will be hitting the people with them so that we can hear their cries and feel their pains and take the money to them on time. We need help because the kidnappers told us that they would not release our people if the money was less than N15 million.

“We want the government to please remedy this situation for the safety of our children and wives.”

Mr. Oluwadare Oniya, father of the abducted nine-year-old girl, said,We plead with the government to help us today so that these people can rejoin us today. There is a problem. Let us focus first on how the children can be released; after that, the government knows what can be done to arrest the perpetrators.

“My child there is nine years old; with that age, you can imagine the situation she will be in because when we talk with the abducted persons, they tell us that the kidnappers don’t give them food or water. It is going to be a week now. We have tried, but our best appeared not up to what the kidnappers want”.

Also, Pastor Clement Adebisi, who was anxious over his wife, said, “We are appealing to the government to come to our aid so that we can rescue the kidnapped persons today (Saturday). We are getting worried about the condition of the children.

“We plead with the government to come to our aid. We have offered all that we could raise, but they said it was not enough and insisted on N15 million. That is why we want the government to come to our aid so that they can be released today,” he said.

‘I heard my son being beaten and crying when abductors called me’
Addressing the embattled parents and families, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Special Interest Groups, Princess Toyin Agbaje-Malomo, assured the parents that their loved ones would soon be rescued to rejoin them.

Agbaje-Malomo said, “You are not alone; we are together in it. The governor is assiduously working on it so that our people in captivity will be rescued to rejoin their families and loved ones.

“The governor is with you; he feels your pains. He has asked me to assure you that, based on ongoing efforts, all of them will be returned to you safely in no time. That is the assurance I am here to relay to you today,” she added.

Adeboye: Fire of God will consume those attacking traditional rulers