The Principal of St. Peter Clavers College, Aghalokpe, Okpe Local Government Area of Delta State, Rev Father Christopher Ogaga, has been reportedly kidnapped by gunmen and they are demanding N15m ransom.
It was gathered that the Catholic cleric was abducted on Saturday on his way to Warri along the Arava//Oviri-Orere-Okpe Road in the Okpe council.
Fr. Ogaga who is also the parish priest of Emmanuel Catholic Church, Aragba, Oviri Okpe, was travelling to Warri to join his colleagues to celebrate the Holy Mass on Sunday.
A relative of the victim, while confirming the incident to our correspondent on Monday, said his abductors had reached out to some family members demanding N15m ransom as of Sunday.
He was said to be driving alone when the arms-wielding hoodlums struck and whisked him to an unknown destination.
One of the sources in a text confirming the kidnap of the priest said, “Fr. Ogaga left the house and he was heading to Warri through Arava-Oviri-Orere-Okpe Road. That is the route he used to take to Warri. We are suspecting that he might have been kidnapped along this route.
“He was driving alone when the incident happened because he usually travels to Warri alone on Sundays. We were supposed to go with him that Saturday, but we did not go with him.”
Although the Director of Communication, Catholic Diocese of Warri, Very Rev. Fr Benedict Okutegbe, could not be reached for an official response, several Catholic priests who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed the development.
The state Police Commissioner, Mustafa Muhammad, also confirmed the development saying operatives had launched a manhunt for the kidnappers.