The family of Esther Katung, who was abducted on September 14, have
been thrown into mourning after idnappers took a ransom of N250,000
after killing her.
The deceased, whose husband is the pastor of the ECWA church in the
village, was abducted in Bagoma, Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of
Kaduna State, when bandits broke into their home about 11:30pm.
Her husband, Ishaku Katung, was said to have escaped with serious
injuries when the kidnappers attacked them.
A family source said the deceased and two other victims escaped from
captivity but the deceased was not lucky as she was caught by the
kidnappers who broke her leg and smashed her head, leading to her
death.
The bandits were said to have dumped her corpse in the bush. Her body
was discovered days after the family went to pay the ransom.
The source said having killed her, the kidnappers gave the impression
that she was alive and insisted on the payment of ransom for her
release.
The kidnappers were said to have demanded N5 million as ransom, but
after a series of negotiations and pleading, they agreed to take
N250,000 for her release.
The source explained that the people who went to deliver the ransom
had to run for their lives as the bandits burnt their motorcycles
after collecting the money.
Confirming the incident, Joseph Hayab, chairman of the Christian
Association of Nigeria (CAN)in the state, said human life “no longer
means anything in the country”.
He said the rate of kidnappings in the state is “very scary”, noting
that people are living under perpetual fear of the unknown.
“What really happened is that she wanted to escape with two others.
They killed her and dumped her corpse in the bush,” Hayab said.
“After they killed her, they were still demanding for the ransom
without telling us that they had killed her and the ransom was
delivered to them.
“They burnt the motorcycle of those who went to deliver the ransom and
collected their mobile phones”.
Efforts to reach Yakubu Sabo, spokesman of the Kaduna state police
command, for reaction were unsuccessful as his mobile phone was
switched off as of the time of filing this report.
In August, Jeremiah Omolewa, resident pastor of the Living Faith
Church in Romi New Extension, a suburb in the state, was killed while
his wife was abducted.
The incident happened along Kaduna-Abuja road. While his son escaped,
the gunmen took his widow into the forest and later contacted the
family of the victim to demand a ransom of N50 million.
She was released after ransom was paid.
