Kidnappers Collected 4M For Our Release.

One of the three pastors kidnapped by gunmen in Kaduna in March this year insisted on Sunday that the Nigerian Police never played a vital role in their release.

Rev. Emmanuel Dziggau, who is the immediate past president of the HEKAN Church, said the abductors were paid N4m before they regained their freedom.

Dziggau said this while fielding questions from journalists shortly after his retirement service which held at the HEKAN church in Kaduna.

He said the ransom was not paid by the government, but did not say who paid the kidnappers – facilitating his release after he had spent nine days in captivity.

Dziggau was kidnapped on March 21, 2016 alongside Rev. Iliya Anthony ‎who died in the kidnappers’ den and Rev. Yakubu Dzarma.

He said he experienced hell in the nine days ‎spent in the den of his kidnappers.

He said, “For the nine days, it was like hell for us. No basic daily needs. We sleep on the ground on top of leaves, no good drinking water. I took my bath twice in the 9 days we spent with them.

“The kidnappers initially demanded 150 million ransom for the three of us but four million naira (N4,000,000) was eventually paid before we were released and from same money, we were given 4,000 each to transport ourselves when we were released.

“I was forcefully pushed to start walking barefooted, they removed our shirts‎ and gave us. Tiny-looking Fulani shirts to wear. The one I was given was so small that it hardly reach my waist and we kept walking in the bus without an idea where we were heading to.

“We kept trekking throughout the night crossing gutters and swamping areas, we were allowed to rest only briefly at intervals.

“There were about 15 heavily armed with three guarding each of us, they threatened to kill us if the ransom was not paid, at a point a fair-looking Fulani guy came to us and said to me, ‘baba, I had to stay behind so that these boys will not kill you, they are trigger happy chaps’.”

The cleric said one of the kidnappers asked them to find space in their hearts to forgive them, as according to him, circumstances forced them into the criminal act.

“He looked sober and asked us to forgive him. He said they are doing this kidnapping not because ‎they like it but it is circumstances that forced them. He blamed the present administration for their woes, saying they have been stealing their cows and left with nothing to do, that is why we resort to this ugly job of kidnapping,”