A N1 million ransom has been demanded by unidentified gunmen who kidnapped Rev. Filibus Bamai, a retired priest from ECWA Church in Matuak Rimi, in the Moro’a Chiefdom of Kaura Local Government Area, Kaduna State.

In Manchok on Tuesday, a person with close ties to the church provided this indication.

The source claimed that Bamai, who reached retirement age on December 17 and left the military, was kidnapped from his home on Sunday at 12:50 a.m.

The source claims that while his wife was brutally beaten with a stick and suffered cuts to her head and bruises to her back, the cleric was carried away with only boxers on him.

The source claimed that the kidnappers had lowered the ransom to N1 million as of Monday, having previously sought N5 million for his release.

A cleric called on security agencies to increase security in the area, stating that about N300,000 had been mobilized thus far.

The rate of kidnappings is on the increase in rural communities where kidnappers take advantage of the porous security situation to pick victims at will.

A farmer in Pari village in the Chawai chiefdom of Kauru Local Government of Kaduna State, Mr Sunday Bage, was kidnapped barely a week ago along with his wife, Listu.