Nigeria: Bishop Tabwayen kidnappers demand £132,000 as Anglican leader urges vigilance

The kidnappers of a Nigerian Anglican bishop abducted near the capital Abuja have asked for a 40 million Nigerian Naira ( £130,178) ransom for his safe release.

It is believed that Rt Rev Moses Bukpe-Tabwayen, Bishop of Gwagwalada, was abducted in Edo state as he was travelling from Abuja to Onitsha, Anambra state on 3 September. His car was found just outside Abuja.

In 2013, another Anglican bishop was abducted by armed men who took him and his wife into a forest in the Niger Delta. A week later, Ignatius Kattey, his wife and their driver were released unarmed.

The primate of Nigeria, Nicholas Okoh, called on the Christian community to be vigilant. "The issue of kidnapping is rampant in the country but we can still curtail the menace if we are vigilant," he said, according to Christian Today. "If we fail to live together as brothers in prayers, we shall perish as fools, so we should endeavour to be our brothers' keeper."

Since 2009, people who are charged with kidnapping are sentenced to death in Nigeria. However, the capital punishment has not served as a deterrent as kidnappings for ransom are very frequent in several states across the African nation.

On 9 September, police rescued two Chinese nationals who had been abducted in Edo state, after some citizens had made a distress call. The same day, an Israeli expat was shot in the head in an apparent kidnap attempt. The man was killed as he tried to escape after armed men tried to abduct him near the construction site in Abuja where he worked.

Police in Rivers State are currently investigating the abduction of well-known journalist Donu Kogbara, who was kidnapped by unknown men at her parents' house in Port Harcourt on 30 August. The kidnappers have not yet contacted the family with a ransom request and the motive for the abduction is still unknown. Though speculations are rife the abduction might be linked to Kogbara's stinging criticism of former president Goodluck Jonathan and members of his erstwhile administration.

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