By Abba Gwale
The body of a pastor, Fredrick Aramuwa, who was kidnapped in March, was found beside the road in the Akoko South East Local Government Area of Ondo State on Easter Sunday.
Mr Tee-Leo Ikoro, the state Police Public Relations Officer, confirmed the killing of the pastor and said investigation had commenced into the incident, adding that police operatives had been searching for him before his corpse was found.
Aramuwa, who was a pastor in Lagos State, was earlier kidnapped by gunmen on the Idoani-Ifira Road and was taken to an unknown destination.
A source in the community said the pastor was on his way to Ifira Akoko from Lagos, with his driver and was not seen since March 31. It was later discovered that the deceased pastor was abducted a few kilometres to Ifira, his home town.
“Contacts were made with Lagos and his departure was confirmed. The community started searching for him after reporting his disappearance at the Divisional Police Office in Isua Akoko. It was later discovered that he had been kidnapped, the source said.
The abductors agreed to collect N10m initially, but the ransom was later reduced to N2m. Despite that the ransom of N2m was paid to them, they failed to release the victim. Later, the lifeless body of the pastor was discovered.
The source, however, said it could not ascertain if the deceased was tortured or strangled to death, but his remains had been deposited in the morgue of the General Hospital, Ipe Akoko.
