2 months after, abducted Edo seminarians still in captivity

Two months and seven days after their abduction, two seminarians from the Catholic’s Immaculate Conception Minor Seminary School in Ivianokpodi, Agenebode, Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo State, are yet to regain their freedom. Gunmen, suspected to be kidnappers, reportedly stormed the school on July 9 at about 9pm. During the attack, they killed […]

Two months and seven days after their abduction, two seminarians from the Catholic’s Immaculate Conception Minor Seminary School in Ivianokpodi, Agenebode, Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo State, are yet to regain their freedom.

Gunmen, suspected to be kidnappers, reportedly stormed the school on July 9 at about 9pm.

During the attack, they killed an official of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), injured a local vigilante attached to the school, and abducted three seminarians.

The kidnappers initially demanded an undisclosed ransom for their release, which was not paid.

However, it was gathered that one of the seminarians was later released after his family paid a ransom, leaving the two others in captivity.

Last month, the remaining two seminarians appeared in a viral video, appealing to their families and well-meaning Nigerians to help pay the ransom demanded by their abductors.

In the video, the seminarians were seen holding a human skull, saying “Please, we are begging everybody to help us pay the ransom they demanded before we are released. We are suffering here. Help us so that we can be released.”

Rev. Fr. Peter Egielewa, the spokesperson for the Catholic Diocese of Auchi, had confirmed the authenticity of the video.

“Yes, the video you see of them holding a human skull is real,” he said. “We are negotiating with the kidnappers, but they are asking for money which we do not have. I think they made that video out of frustration.” CSP Moses Yamu, the state police command’s spokesperson, said the police were doing everything possible to ensure the release of the seminarians.

He added that the police were working with their counterparts in Kogi State to secure the victims’ safe return.

Meanwhile, efforts to get a recent update from the Catholic Diocese of Auchi were unsuccessful, as calls and text messages to its spokesperson, Rev. Fr. Peter Egielewa, went unanswered.