Kidnappers kill Pastor after payment of N1m ransom in Kogi

A clergyman with the Evangelical Church Winning All, ECWA, Pastor David Musa, has been killed by his abductors after collecting N1,000,000 ransom in Kogi State.

DAILY POST gathered that the late Pastor Musa who was abducted on Saturday, 11th November 2023 in Obajana, under Lokoja Local Government Area of Kogi State was later killed on Tuesday.

A member of the Church identified as Mary while narrating how the Pastor was killed said” The Pastor went to his farm that ugly day. So, his wife was waiting for him to return home but she didn’t see her husband. When night fell, the wife raised an alarm in which the Church people, including residents of the community, went to his farm to search for him.

“It was then that they discovered that the Pastor had been kidnapped. The abductors got in touch with the family demanding N20,000,000. Since the church and the family could not raise such an amount of money, they pleaded with the kidnappers and they reduced the ransom to 1,000,000.

” The kidnappers insisted that, when they are bringing the money, the church should come along with recharge cards, chicken, and many alcoholic drinks for their consumption. Two of the Church members were sent to deliver the money and the itemize requested by the kidnappers.

“When they got to the kidnapper’s den, they saw our Pastor alive. They now instructed our Pastor and the two other church members who brought the money to start going home. Unfortunately, they later called the Pastor to come back and he did as instructed because he knew that there was no way he could run from their place since his abductors were holding sophisticated weapons.

“When he was coming back to them, they immediately shot at him and he died. That was how they later brought his lifeless body back to Obajana. This incident has thrown the entire Church and the community into mourning.

DAILY POST further gathered that the news of the murder of the late Pastor Musa was first broken on a social media platform of the Church on Wednesday morning.

The short message read, “It is with a heavy heart but in total submission to the will of God, I write to inform you that the abductors of our brother, Pastor Musa David, have killed him after collecting a ransom of one million naira last night. Let our prayers be with the family, the Church, and the DCC in this trying moment.”

Late Pastor David was formerly in charge of ECWA Bishara, Ajaokuta. His gruesome murder has heightened panic among his congregation and the state in general.

Currently, there are fears that the Lokoja/ Obajana/ Kabba Road has become unsafe for residents as gunmen now operate regularly on the road, abducting and sending people to their early graves.

In September, an army Major was among 26 people who were led to the bush at Aiyegunle Igun, a few kilometres from Kabba town.

Some of the victims secured freedom after one week in captivity. The fate of others are still unknown

In a related development, some people narrowly escaped abduction when the gunmen seized the road a day after the Kogi State governorship election.

Meanwhile, the Kogi State Police Police Command, on Thursday, confirmed the incident to DAILY POST.

The Kogi Police Public Relations Officer, (PPRO) SP William Ovye Aya told our correspondent that the command has begun an investigation into the incident, adding that those behind the killing of the late Pastor Musa will be arrested and prosecuted.