THE NATION INTERVIEW: My Abductors Initially Fed Me The Way They Would Feed Their Dogs — Catholic Priest Just Released From Captivity

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Akingbade

A Catholic priest in Ekiti State, Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Akingbade, spent one week in the den of kidnappers after  he was abducted in his official residence in Ido Ekiti. He was kidnapped on June 9 and released on June 15. Akingbade recounted his ordeal to reporters after his miraculous escape. Odunayo Ogunmola was there.

Will you relive the events that led to your escape from the kidnappers?  

I didn’t have the opportunity of reading newspapers, but I remembered whether on Wednesday or Friday, my abductors came to me to say that the news that the church was making in the media, especially on the pages of the newspapers, was annoying so because of that, I, got to know that something was happening outside.  And that thing that was happening was the contribution that the mass media has made.

The Nation report continues:

But I thank God that everything went well and today, the joy has come. It has been a long story that one would continue to narrate but it has a been a story 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 that 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 might 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 might 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 smell of my corpse. But the prayers of the people worked for me.  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 dark room. 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.

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 to realize 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 was named Emmanuel. Emmanuel means God is with us. So, these are indications that God is involved.

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, it is like we are not allowing them to flourish. The news came yesterday 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.

How was the place where you were held?

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 are at work. They always tell their people on phone that they are in business; ‘I would see you tomorrow or next’ and things like that, they say to then.

About the feeding, they tried, they gave me bread, pure water, spaghetti and indomie [noodle] and they also gave me eba. And the only proteinous food I ate there was frog. They were prepared 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 of 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 that were 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 were the negotiators. Two came on Wednesday night and one came on Friday with another person. They didn’t 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 for whether they had planned for my kidnap, I am sure they didn’t come for Rev Father Emmanuel Akingbade because they didn’t know me.

The man that 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 of my name on Wednesday.  Thursday and Friday was when they were asking me the type of car that 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 were you observing your prayers in captivity?

For us Catholics, the powerful instrument of prayer is the rosary. You know Mary the mother of Christ, that means the mother of all sorrows.   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 and used it 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.

What, in your opinion, led to the upsurge of kidnapping in Nigeria?

As a victim of kidnap, I think what has led to rampant kidnapping is because they have made bank robberies 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. 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 criminals 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. 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 does not allow the culprit to be caught.

What is the exact spot where you were held?

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 toilets 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 was wondering in my mind 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.