Armed bandits kidnap Pastor Bitrus of Shiyona Church, demand N60m ransom in Niger

TopNaija reports that some armed men have allegedly kidnapped the Pastor in Charge of Shiyona Baptist Church, Reverend Yohanna Gyang Bitrus in Ugwan Saye in Yakila community in Tegina, Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State.

TopNaija gathered that the incident occurred on Thursday at about 2 pm.

The gunmen were said to have arrived in the community and went straight to the cleric’s house and whisked him away to an unknown location.

A source in the community told the TopNaija that the bandits stormed the area in the afternoon, shooting sporadically to create panic among the people.

According to the source, the gunmen did not enter any other house in the village, but walked directly to the pastor’s house and went away with him.

However, another source close to the family in a phone call, said a few hours after the abduction, the family of Rev. Bitrus has been contacted by the kidnappers and demanding the sum of N60m as ransom.

“The family is presently confused on what to do and how to raise the N60m to secure the freedom of Pastor Bitrus,” the source stated.

When contacted for confirmation, the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Wasiu Abiodun, stated that he will get back to the reporter when he gets details about the incident as at the time of filing this report.