Senator Magnus Abe representing Rivers South East in the National Assembly has charged Nigerians to see the travails of the Dean, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Most Rev. Ignatius Kattey in the hands of kidnappers as a wake-up call, insisting that the country can no longer afford to play with the issue of security.
Senator Abe, who stated this during a visit to Archbishop Kattey shortly after he was released by his abductors, disclosed that joblessness and financial challenges should not be placed as excuses for indulging in kidnapping and armed robbery.
Kattey, who is also the Archbishop, Province of the Niger Delta and Bishop of the Diocese of the Niger Delta North, was released by his abductors on Saturday night after spending nine days in captivity.
“I just want to use this opportunity to thank Christian faithful across the country; every Christian in this country showed concern; so I thank all of us for what God has done and to say that this actually is a wake-up call for us as a country. We can no longer afford to play with the issue of security”, the Senator said.
“It is by the grace of God that we are today gathered here, smiling and clapping, the story could have been the other way; joblessness and financial challenges are not excuses for kidnapping and armed robbery. It is an insult to all the millions of people who are poor, who are struggling, and who have refused to kill anybody or to harm another to better their lot”.
While calling on Nigerians to join hands with security operatives to arrest the kidnappers of the Anglican cleric he said “this is a criminal action; and anybody who was involved remotely or otherwise, should be tracked to prevent it from happening again”.
“This is a servant of God, this is a leader of the Church, this is an Anglican priest, this is a known character in this state and country, highly respected, and then, little boys will just come, drag him around the way they did?”
“It is totally unacceptable and we must condemn it without reservation. My Lord, when we catch them, the issue of forgiving them will arise; but we must look for them and we will never stop looking for them”, Senator Abe declared.
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