Policemen in Mowe have asked the relatives of Oluboboye Abiola, an abductee and pastor at the Celestial Church of Christ Jehovah Shalom Parish, Oniyarin Peace Bus Stop in Ibafo, Ogun state, to pay the sum of N300,000 before they can arrest the his abductors.

On the night of March 28, while observing the holy communion service at the CCC Jehovah Shalom Parish, Abiola was kidnapped alongside Seyi Oladapo, a senior pastor of the church. FIJ learned that the abductors were armed and wore masks to conceal their faces.

Akeem Ajisafe, a member of the church, told FIJ that Oladapo escaped that night and was beaten up by local vigilantes who thought he was a thief.

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“The kidnappers took them away, but only the senior pastor knows how he managed to escape. Some vigilantes saw him and beat him because they thought he was a thief. They also took him to the police station in Mowe. The policemen there recognised him instantly,” Ajisafe told FIJ.

“The community paid vigilantes and Amotekun guards to comb the bushes surrounding the church. Some days later, some people said they saw the junior pastor unconscious with the kidnappers on a bike. They also said it was late before they realised he was the one.

“The senior pastor has involved the police on different occasions, but they kept asking for and collecting money.”

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He also told FIJ that the kidnappers made different requests on different occasions. Once, they requested N5 million as ransom and at a later time, they requested a cooler of rice and meat, packs of bottled water and N1 million.

Four months after the abduction, Salisu Aliyu, a man suspected to be one of those who kidnaped Abiola, took over the abducted pastor’s WhatsApp and TikTok accounts.

Salisu Aliyu has edited Abiola’s image and monicker on WhatsApp. On Tiktok, Aliyu also made videos of himself and posted them on Abiola’s account.

When the senior pastor and other church members noticed this, they sought the help of the police. The police aided them in tracking the phone’s location and discovered they were in Oyo state.

Instead of swinging into action and arresting the kidnappers, they asked Abiola’s relatives to grease their palms with the sum of N300,000 before doing their job.

FIJ called Omolola Odutola the Ogun State Police PRO, but she didn’t respond. A text message sent to her has also been left ineesponde