Adetokunbo Adenokpo is a 52-year-old Nigerian pastor who is neck-deep in the West African country’s evil trade – kidnapping. Nigeria’s kidnapping rate was 0.4 kidnappings per 100,000 people with a minimum of 0.2 kidnappings per 100,000 people in 2007 and a maximum of 0.5 kidnappings per 100,000 people in 2009, 0.3 cases per 100,000 populations in 2013, down from 0.4 cases per 100,000 populations previous year, a change of 6.96%.
Adenokpo’s notoriety came to light after the Nigerian police paraded him last month for allegedly abducting a dispatch rider and detained him in an underground facility in his church in Ogun State along the Ibu River and Eruwuru Stream between Lagos and Ibadan.
Adenokpo said he decided to go into kidnapping to raise money to donate to charity, cutting across all religions.
“In my church, we do charity, where I share food and palliative to people and this became stronger during the COVID-19. I felt pity for people and I don’t have any money in my account and people still come to me for help,” local media quoted the man of God as saying.
Job Ekpe, the dispatch rider, was taken hostage when he went to deliver some items in Adenokpo’s church. The founder of the New Life Church, according to Police, carried out the nefarious act with his gang.
DCP Frank Mba, the Nigerian Police’s Public Relations Officer said Ekpe was injected with anesthesia to weaken him. “A few weeks ago we were short of funds. So I had the idea of doing something for Ileya so I can get some bags of rice and beans and palm oil and other things to share, and probably with a ram, which we can cut and give to poor people and we thought we should get money from the rich companies and then raise money and use it to take care of poor people.
“The three of us were involved in the kidnap of Jonathan with the hope of raising funds for the Ileya. I injected him because he was struggling I did not want him to be injured,” confessed Adenokpo.
Ekpe was eventually rescued after an investigation was launched where he was detained in the underground facility in the church.
