Nine Jehovah’s Christian Witnesses who were kidnapped in Kogi State, have regained their freedom. Among them is a heavily pregnant woman due to deliver soon.
“They were released by their abductors at midnight,” a source familiar with the development disclosed on Sunday.
“Everyone of them is fine, including the pregnant woman,” he said.
The nine Christians were on their way to Lokoja, the state capital, to attend an annual gathering of Jehovah’s Witnesses known as Circuit Assembly when they were abducted on Kabba – Lokoja Road on Saturday, February 17.
Those kidnapped included two women, four men and two female students. They had taken off a Kingdom Hall at Kabba that Saturday morning in the hope of joining their brothers and sisters from other parts of the state for the spiritual banquet, only for abductors to cut short their journey.
Reports said that the kidnappers later called to demand first for N30 million but later reduced it to N2.6 million after negotiation.
It was not clear if any ransom was eventually paid to secure the release of the captives after spending a week in the kidnappers’ den.
