In a chat at the Bishop’s House of the Ekiti Catholic Diocese in Ajilosun area of Ado-Ekiti, Father Akingbade said his abductors had him locked up in a dark room for six days, adding that they fed him like anyone would feed his dog.Describing his experience as a story of graduating from darkness to light, he said: “ It has been a long story of moving from darkness to light and for us Christians, it is a story that has given meaning to our faith.
“Silver or gold we do not have and when you find yourself in the hands of those who are interested in silver or even gold, then that necessarily creates a serious problem. So, if there was money to be given to those who decided to have me in their custody, there may not have been a serious problem, but as a priest who knows about the working of the Lord, I knew quite well that the journey was going to be a very long one.
“But the people outside did not have money, they went into prayers and then, my own self, I had to ally myself with prayers that the people were making. And this is our faith; when God wants to answer peoples’ prayers, if need be, somebody has to make a mistake so that something positive would come out of it. Actually, where I was locked inside a very dark room, if not for God, they may have left me there to die. I do not think anybody would have been able to locate me if that had happened, if at all they would be able to locate me it could be the odour of my corpse.”
Immediately, he was abducted, the head of Catholic Church in the state, Bishop Felix Ajakaiye had enjoined all members of the church to continue a fervent prayer for him, giving an assurance that God would intervene in his case. Akingbade testified that indeed, what freed him from his captors was the prayer of the church and others. His words: “I want to believe it was God through the prayers of the people. I was not privy to whatever was happening outside the dark room but I observed on Monday afternoon that there was tension in their camp.
That Monday afternoon, there was serious tension. I begged them that Monday afternoon to do me a little favour, to open the door for ventilation so that I could still breathe in fresh air and not die inside the dungeon. They did this and because of the opening of the door a little I was able to notice their movement and discovered that there was trouble.
“The tension happened all through that Monday and as God would have it, in the evening, one of them came to me and said: “ father, some people are fomenting trouble at the gate, we want to go and attend to it. He opened the door a little and said I have opened this door so that you would be able to receive fresh air. He didn’t say more than that but I was in the dark and couldn’t say anything so I couldn’t have attempted anything that night. So, I had to wait to see what would happen the following Tuesday morning, not that I knew whether they were around or not. But I decided to take the necessary risk and the risk led me out of the camp.
And I found myself by the road side. The Okada man that assisted me to the next town which is Iludun, I asked of his name and he said his name is Emmanuel from Ijelu. And my own name is Emmanuel.
When I returned, the Bishop made me realise that on Sunday before my arrival, during the mass with my people, they asked one of the children to pray for my freedom and the little boy who came out to pray is named Emmanuel. Emmanuel means God is with us. So, these are indications that God is involved.”
Bemoaning the poor security situation in the country, Akingbade tasked the government and all citizens to act urgently. According to him “What happened to me could happen to anybody. This is our society, we pray that God would uproot evil and plant good. The good things are here, but we are not allowing them to flourish.post by expdonaloaded.blogspot.com..
The news came too that the aged and former VC of FUTA was kidnapped and it shows that the abductors have no respect for age and reputation.
“We can use the contribution of the media to improve things in our society. In my own little world I have become popular, everyone has known who Father Emmanuel Akingbade is, they want to speak to me, listen to me, shake my hands and I am even afraid. That is made possible because of the contribution of the media. This society is for all of us. We pray to God to give us a better society.”
Narrating further on his ordeal, regarding the operations of the abductors, he said: “It was an experience of one camp, two worlds. I was in my own world in the dark room where I was locked and there was another world among the abductors. Most of the time, I was the one making effort to speak with them. Asking them for what I want; ‘please I need water, please help to open the door for ventilation’. And from their own conversation, I discovered that they too were human beings like us, for example, they have their own girl friends and they call them and discuss with them. They tell them they were at work. They always tell their people on phone that they were in business, ‘I would see you tomorrow or next’ and things like that.
“About feeding, they gave me bread, pure water, spaghetti and indomie and they also gave me eba. And the only proteinous food I ate there was frog. They were ready to feed me three times a day, at least two times. Initially, they fed me like anybody would feed his dog. They were feeding me with the cover of plastic buckets. They gave me too much rice and I had to let them know that I only needed to eat small food. The best meal I had there was eba and that was on Saturday. I would have loved to eat much of that eba but they gave me small. (Laughs)
“I got to understand that they have departments. They spoke Yoruba. Those who were with me in the dark room were three, their main function was to ensure that I did not see the light of the day and did not move from where I was kept to another place. And that I was given whatever I needed. There was this other group who was always outside. They visited at night, only twice. I think on Wednesday and Friday.
“ Three of them were with me throughout the ordeal. Then there was the negotiators. Two came on Wednesday night and one came on Friday with another person. They didn’t wear any mask but they had their own way of making sure we did not see eye to eye.
“With the mental condition that I was, I couldn’t decipher what dialect of Yoruba they were speaking. As to whether they had planned my kidnap, I am sure they didn’t come for Rev Father Emmanuel Akingbade because they didn’t know me.
“ The man who was working in the living room when they came, according to what he said, that they first asked him: ‘are you the Rev father,’ and he said no, and they asked where is the Rev father, they put a gun on his head and asked where is the Reverend father and he led them to my room where I was abducted.
“They asked for my name on Wednesday . On Thursday and Friday was when they asked for the type of car I ride , the colour and others. So, put together, they didn’t come for me as a person, they just wanted to kidnap a Reverend father and I happened to be one.”
How did he also pray for God’s intervention during his incarceration, the father said he had to improvise a Rosary, an instrument of faith for prayers: “For us Catholics, the powerful instrument of prayer is the Rosary. You know Mary the mother of Christ, that means the mother of all souls. This is the Bishop’s Rosary, in my own case, I had to make my Rosary. At first, I was using my fingers but at a time, I discovered I wasn’t doing it well, I was skipping my fingers. So, I thought of how to make a Rosary right there in the room where I was locked and the only thing that was available was the rag with which they covered my face.
“ So, I had to tear from the rag to make the Rosary. A Rosary should have a crucifix, and other features, so I made the Rosary with the rag and improvised all its features and used it to do the prayers. And I strongly believe that if anyone finds himself in trouble, if he comes to the Bishop and asks for this Rosary and prays with it, the trouble would be over.
“ So, once I made this Rosary, I was determined not to leave it there if I made it alive. I was determined to leave everything but not this Rosary. This was the only instrument of prayer that I used while there. Like I was saying the other time, while praying with the Rosary I had an encounter with God that was almost like the story in the Acts of Apostles Chapter 12, from verse 1 to 19. That Biblical story is just the summary of my story. “
Giving tips on what might have caused rampant kidnapping in the state and how the security operatives can tackle the problem, he said: “ As a victim of kidnap, I think what has led to rampant kidnapping is that they have made bank robbery so difficult. The banks no longer keep huge money that could be stolen. So they shifted to taking people and weighing their worth. In my own case, when they wanted to announce the ransom, two of them came, one of them first said N100 million but his second said N200 million.
“ These people also have their agents and they usually assess what the public or constituency of their catch is doing, how they feel. So, they thought this is a very big catch, everybody is disturbed and if everybody is disturbed the N200 million shouldn’t be too much to produce. Every generation has its own problem. In abroad, they have their own problem. But the problem I think we have with this our own generation is we appear not to be making progress in the area of tracking criminals. What we were made to understand over there is that you could run but you won’t be able to hide because they have a way of tracking and getting the criminal but here it isn’t like that.
“ Some people that were earlier kidnapped have been paying the ransom. So it has become a business.
The way out is for everyone to be at alert and use every means to support security operatives in tracking down criminals. For instance, it is possible to have cameras all over the places and also use some other technological devices for security purposes.
So, all those security devices that are being used in advanced countries to track criminals can also be used here too. So that even if a murder occurs and the culprit escapes from the crime scene, he can still be caught with such security devices. And the justice for the murdered would be achieved so that the victim’s spirit would rest in peace but here if such a thing happens, that would be the end. There is no means such a person would get justice because our poor security system cannot allow the culprit to be caught.”
Akingbade dropped a bombshell when he declared that he was actually kept at an abandoned government facility in Isan-Ekiti, saying: “I know the place where I was kept because when I escaped I had the opportunity to see the sign post of the place. It is Government College, Isan-Ekiti. The place is fully completed and very wide. The kidnappers had the keys to the doors of the rooms there. At least in the apartment where I was kept I saw the keys to some of the toilet and that of the room in which I was kept.
When they took me in, the gate of the compound was open. They didn’t break in. They carried me in. And when I was coming out, the padlock of the room wasn’t locked, I just removed it and went out. So, I know the place, it was Government College in Isan-Ekiti. It was a completed building with all the facilities. Even with mattresses. When they took me in, the first night I slept on a new mattress with a pillow, with nylon still on it. I felt it with my hands.
“In the dark room I was kept I concluded that these people must have meant serious business and planned well for it, If they could have a mattress and pillow and all that. But when I came out I discovered that it was a fully completed government facility, Government College building, in Isan.
Bishop Ajakaiye who declared that the church didn’t pay a ransom on Akingbade contrary to views being expressed in some quarters, bemoaned the poor social security system in the country as cause of the menace. According to him “ If the executive is not executing well, if the legislature is not legislating well and the judiciary is not adjudicating well, I think the fourth estate of the realm should do something. As I keep saying, anybody could be held. It could be me. It is business, they see it as such. But like I always say government cannot be the whole employer of labour but there should be enabling environment. When people are taking a lot of money, and nothing is forthcoming, salaries are not being paid, and all that and it is affecting all of us. The security operatives’ manpower is so short and equipment to work with are not there.
“In this case, our security operatives tried their best. The Inspector General of Police himself was always contacting me and doing his best.
I think the agitation in their camp was as a result of the killing of two of the kidnappers. You know the regent that was abducted in Akure, they demanded for N200 million as ransom for her too. I think the kidnappers were contacting each other.
“So, we still need to help ourselves to be security conscious and the media , we should not just wait till when the news break, we should also break the news. And follow up stories. Like that school, the Government College in Isan, why was the school abandoned? We complain of abandoned buildings that have become haven for criminals, what of the government owned facilities that have been left unused having been equipped? So, God wanted to teach us so many lessons.
As he said if the Reverend father had been locked and left there nobody would know and he might have just died there. And it is true and I am still telling you, there wasn’t any ransom paid, and that was why we told all of our people not to pay any ransom. The kidnappers kept contacting me, even up till Friday, but I said we did not have money to pay. They later started speaking in Yoruba, asking me to give just anything. But I told them we can’t because we don’t have and the church belongs to God, the priest belongs to the church. We are all children of God and God would see us through.
“In the catholic church, if you give me a car today and I happen to die, no member of my family will come to claim the car because it belongs to the church, except you came back to claim the car and say I gave it to Bishop Ajakaiye and now he is dead I want my car and the church would give it back to you.
“I have been hearing that we were telling lies that we didn’t pay a ransom but if indeed we paid, why do we need to lie? If we pay we will say we paid. They don’t take cheques, they take cash and if we have paid people would have known. If we paid, who took the money there and where did they take it to?
“We just thank God. He did it through all of us, Catholics and non-Catholics. So, I thank all who assisted us in prayers. The Pope is just the head of the church. He is also the head of faith. The prayer of the church is for God to release those in captivity so that they will come out and become servants of justice, we don’t curse but pray for the culprits. We pray that God would change their hearts. They told me they didn’t believe in prayers and even threatened to assassinate the Reverend father but I still maintained we would not pay any ransom. “
Click photo to download; but you lied to me by Expdona aka finish gravity
Expdonaloaded blog;Click the photo to download aboki wey d suya by Expdona aka finish gravity
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