Reports reaching our newsroom has it that gunmen who abducted Rev. Fr Alphonsus Uboh a Catholic priest, in Akwa Ibom State on Sunday have demanded a N100 million ransom for his release.
Uboh, a reverend father and parish priest of St. Pius X Parish, Ikot Abasi Akpan, Mkpat Enin, is said to have been abducted at his parsonage, within the church premises at about 7 p.m. The incident occurred after the Parish women – Catholic Women Organisation (CWO) had concluded their 2022 Mother’s Day celebrations and fundraising ceremony.
The chairman of the Parish Council, Cletus Okodi, disclosed that the priest contacted him on phone Monday afternoon.
The kidnapped cleric told Mr Okodi that he is kept in a forest whose location he does not know and that the kidnappers are demanding N100 million for his release. A former youth president of the parish, Uwemedimo Patrick, also confirmed he had spoken with the kidnapped priest before the cleric’s phone was immediately switched off.
The gunmen reportedly invaded the church premises located along Ekparakwa – Ekpene Ukpa – Etinan on a motorcycle and whisked the reverend father away. Justin Udoma, a reverend father, and the Director of Communication in the Catholic Diocese of Uyo, confirmed the incident but said it is only the Diocesan Bishop that can make an official statement on the matter.
The Catholic priest abduction is the second clergyman to be kidnapped in less than three weeks. John Okoriko, the founder of Solid Rock Kingdom Church, was abducted by gunmen two weeks ago in Ibekwe Akpanya, a distance less than 10 kilometres from where the Catholic priest was abducted – Ikot Abasi Akpan.
The gunmen who abducted Mr Okoriko also made a N100 million ransom demand for his release, but it is not clear if the same gunmen are responsible for the kidnapping of the Catholic priest. The Akwa Ibom State Police Spokesperson, Odiko Macdon, did not respond to requests for comments when contacted.
