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Methodist Church Paid N100m Ransom for My Release – Prelate Reveals, Indicts Army
The Prelate of the Methodist Church of Nigeria, His Eminence, Samuel Kanu-Uche, who was abducted by hoodlums in Abia State, has said N100m was paid by the church to secure his freedom.
The cleric, who spoke during a press briefing in Lagos on Tuesday, said the kidnappers showed him decomposing bodies of some past victims.
Kanu-Uche was abducted on Sunday along the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway in the Umunneochi Local Government Area of Abia State.
He was taken together with his chaplain, Very Rev. Abidemi Shittu, and the Bishop of Owerri, Rt. Rev. Dennis Mark.
The prelate said his team was going to the airport when they were attacked.
He said, “In order to catch up with my flight at 4pm, we took off by 2pm to go to the airport, oblivious of the fact that kidnappers were waiting on the road.
“As we were descending to Ileru in Abia State, they came out from the bush and divided themselves into three groups.
“Some were at the back, some at the centre. Then there was another group in front to make sure we did not run away. They fired shots at our vehicle and eventually abducted three of us. The communication man of the church and the driver escaped.
“They took us into the bush and tortured us. In the process of the torture, I hit my right eye on a tree and even when blood was flowing and was soaking my handkerchief, they did not feel like anything happened. All they said was that we should follow them.”
He noted that the eight-man gang was made up of “Fulani boys,” who claimed to be against the government.
The cleric said only one of the hoodlums understood English, while others spoke Fulfulde.
“They even said that if they get Buhari, they will chew him to pieces because he had disappointed them.
“We were taken into the bush and we trekked up to 15 kilometres. Eventually at 11pm, they said we should negotiate and each of us should pay N50m, making N150m,” he added.
He said when he tried to reduce the ransom, the gang threatened to shoot him, adding that their leader was about 35 years old.
Kanu-Uche said the men later pegged the ransom at N100m.
The cleric said he reached out to leaders of the church and his wife to raise the money by all means.
The prelate said he observed that military men were around the place where the hoodlums operated, while their cows were also around the vicinity.
“They pointed their guns at us. They threatened that if we involved the DSS, police or Army, they would kill us.
“They said down there, there is a gully of seven decomposing bodies and we cut off their heads. We also perceived the odour of killed human beings.
“Their leader asked for five Ghana-Must-Go bags for the N100m. He also said Lagos is on their radar.
“I am asking that the government should act now before another thing starts to happen.
“The Methodist church sent N100m for the three of us who were kidnapped. The money came from members of the Methodist Church of Nigeria. The Nigerian Army is complicit in the kidnapping,” he added.
His wife, Florence, while thanking God for the safe return of the cleric, implored the Federal Government to ensure the security of lives and property.
The Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria, Lagos chapter, Bishop Stephen Adegbite, said it was the duty of the government to protect lives and property.
He said, “The Buhari government has a lot to do. This is a problem of leadership. The ransom paid was from the church and government does not have a hand in it. We don’t have oil wells and anyone who attacks the church, taking money is taking blood money.”
A security expert, Dickson Osagie, said there was a gradual shift of kidnappers from the poor to influential members of society.
He said, “We need to hold the government accountable. For instance, they meet bandits and pay them off. Each time you do this, they are satisfying criminality. The criminals want to excel in their business. They don’t need 10 poor people anymore. They can go for one big protected or unprotected target and strike.
“The administration of criminal justice should be more refined to show the kidnappers that kidnapping is a death penalty. There must be strict punishment. Otherwise there will continue to be a high rise of high profile victims. We could strike out the idea of negotiation but it won’t be the case if anyone of us is kidnapped. Negotiation can only be eradicated when we have a responsive and reactive security mechanism in place. Our security system is defeated. So if the government cannot protect you, you need to protect yourself to get out of these criminals’ dens.”
The Punch
The Supreme Court has vacated the order of the Court of Appeal which barred the recognition of David Mark as the National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress, ADC.
The apex court on Thursday held that the preservative order by the Court of Appeal was in bad faith, unnecessary, unwarranted and improper.
In a unanimous judgment of the Supreme Court, Justice Mohammed Lawal Garba held that the Court of Appeal ought not to have made such order because it was not sought by any of the parties in the matter.
The Court of Appeal had issued an order of status quo antem bellum upon which the ADC exco under David Mark was de-recognized by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
With the vacation of the order, David Mark and the other national officers are to be recognized as ADC leaders by the electoral body.
The convention produced the Tanimu Turaki-led factional national executives of the party.
Attention has shifted to the Supreme Court, which has fixed April 30 (today) for judgment in the leadership tussle within the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
A five-member panel led by Justice Mohammed Garba will resolve the appeal filed by the David Mark-led faction concerning the authentic leadership of the party.
Also on Thursday, the court is expected to determine the leadership dispute rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Two PDP factions—one led by Kabir Turaki and the other by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike—are laying claim to the leadership of the party.
The Supreme Court had on April 22 reserved judgment in the ADC crisis to a date to be communicated to the parties involved in the tussle.
However, on Tuesday, the ADC formally wrote to the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, pleading for the quick delivery of judgment in the leadership tussle at the national level.
The party claimed it would suffer irreparable harm if judgment in the protracted battle was not delivered within the period allowed by the Electoral Act for fielding candidates for the 2027 general elections.
It stated in part: “Without the delivery of judgment within the next three days from the date of this letter, the ADC stands the grave and irreversible risk of being excluded from participating in the 2027 general elections.
“This would disenfranchise millions of Nigerians who have subscribed to the ideals of the ADC and deny them their constitutional right to freely associate and contest elections through a political party of their choice.”
At the April 22 hearing, Jibrin Okutepa, SAN, who represented David Mark, urged the Supreme Court to allow the appeal, arguing that the apex court had earlier, on March 21, 2025, held that “no court has jurisdiction to entertain matters bordering on the internal affairs of political parties.”
During the hearing, Okutepa urged the apex court to hold that the Federal High Court in Abuja lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit.
However, Robert Emukperu, SAN, who represented the first respondent, Nafiu Gombe, urged the court to dismiss the appeal and affirm the judgment of the lower court, which held that the suit was premature.
It will be recalled that a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal dismissed Mark’s appeal, ruling that it was premature and filed without leave of the trial court.
In the PDP matter, the first appeal, marked SC/CV/164/2026, stems from a decision of Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, who restrained the party from proceeding with its planned convention pending the determination of a suit filed by former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido.
On November 14, the court issued a final order restraining the PDP from conducting its national convention.
Justice Lifu held that Lamido was “unjustly denied” the opportunity to obtain a nomination form to contest for national chairman, in violation of the PDP constitution and internal regulations.
The Court of Appeal later upheld the decision on March 9, prompting the PDP to appeal.
The second appeal, SC/CV/166/2026, was filed by the PDP, its National Working Committee (NWC), and National Executive Committee (NEC).
It arose from a judgment delivered by Justice James Omotosho, which stopped the party from holding its Ibadan national convention.
The Court of Appeal upheld that decision, agreeing that INEC should not validate the outcome of the convention.
After hearing all arguments, the Supreme Court reserved judgment, stating that the date would be communicated to the parties.
