The founder of Solid Rock Kingdom Church, Apostle John Okoriko, who was kidnapped on Tuesday by gunmen from the church premises in the Mpat Enin Local Government Area Akwa Ibom State, has been released after spending four days in his captors’ den.
Okoriko was abducted by the hoodlums and taken to an unknown location.
It was gathered that the kidnappers used the mobile phone of the victim’s driver, which was snatched during the operation to communicate with the family. They reportedly demanded N100m in ransom.
However, when the family could not raise the money, the kidnappers reduced it to N30m and further slashed it to N10m on Friday afternoon.
However, it was not clear if the ransom was paid before the cleric was released.
But while tension was high due to the family’s inability to meet the kidnappers’ demand, the victim sauntered in amidst jubilation by his congregation and family members.
It was gathered that the kidnappers were not comfortable with keeping him in their custody because of social media and newspaper reports, which drew the attention of the government and security agencies to the incident.
Confirming his father’s release in a Facebook post, Okoriko’s son, Levi, wrote, “Our lion has come out stronger than before; he will continue to roar with the new strength.”
The Police Public Relations Officer, Odiko Macdon, confirmed the release of the pastor, saying, “I can confirm that Apostle John Okoriko has been released, but I don’t have any information at my disposal if ransom was paid.’