Nigerian bishop is kidnapped

THE CHURCH of Nigeria’s Bishop of Gwagwalada has been kidnapped and is being held for ransom.

On 3 September the Rt Rev Moses Bukpe-Tabwaye was abducted from his car at a checkpoint at the border between Edo and Delta States in Southern Nigeria.

The Primate of All Nigeria, the Most Rev Nicholas Okoh, reports that bishop’s captors are demanding 40 million Naira (approximately £135,000) for his release.

According to a report printed by the News Agency of Nigeria, Archbishop Okoh told church workers on 5 September: “I urge all of you Christians to be very vigilant and security-conscious wherever you find yourselves. The issue of kidnapping is rampant in the country but we can still curtail the menace if we are vigilant.’’

In September 2013 the number two man in the Church of Nigeria, Archbishop Ignatius Kattey, was abducted and later released, while Archbishop Okoh’s predecessor, the Most Rev Peter Akinola, was abducted by criminals in December 2013 but managed to escape his captors.