‘Police lied. They did not rescue me from kidnappers.’ – Archbishop Kattey

The freed Dean of the Anglican Communion in
Nigeria, Archbishop Ignatius Kattey has denied
claims by the Rivers State Police Command
that their relentless effort rescued him from
the hands of his kidnappers.
This is coming to the fore after four days of
Kattey’s release from the den of the
kidnappers, during a press conference at his
residence in Eleme on Wednesday when Kattey
had briefed Anglican clerics, his kinsmen and
journalists.
Kattey insisted that the state command told
“a blatant lie” when he revealed that the
abductors freed him courtesy of the divine
intervention which resulted from the prayers
made for his unconditional release by the
people from all around the world.
“Police did not rescue me; they did not
rescue my wife. I saw the police the first time
two days ago, the police public relations
officer lied” Kattey said
He also declared that he was not aware of any
ransom paid on his behalf for his release.
“If any ransom was paid, I don’t know. I
believe that God touched their hearts”, he
stated.
Kattey disclosed that his release almost spark
off a serious disagreement among the
kidnappers as they argued before he was freed
without collecting the ransom.
But Kattey affirmed that there were efforts by
security agencies to secure his release,
helicopters, over 500 times, hovered over the
forest where he was held captive.
He also said the kidnappers’ hideout was a
very thick forest where the search team of
the police would not have reached easily.
The 65-year-old cleric has blamed the rising
crime rate on the poor upbringing of children
by modern parents, adding that the abductors
included well-educated, young and able
bodied men who are aggrieved over the spate
of joblessness in the country.
He, therefore urged governments at all levels
to provide jobs for Nigerian youths.
It would be recalled that immediately after he
was discharged by the kidnappers, Rivers State
Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Angela
Agabe, had claimed that the effort of the
police secured shortly after the release of the
Archbishop on Saturday evening had claimed
that it was the police that rescued him.