Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Dr Matthew Kukah, on Monday disclosed that he had paid almost N30 million in ransom for the release of his abducted priests.
Kukah lamented that he was faced with a fresh challenge of
paying another N30 million ransom to secure freedom for his nephew and a driver
abducted a few days ago.
Bishop Kukah revealed this while speaking during a one-day programme
“High-level forum on political communication and issue-based campaigns in the 2023 general
elections” organised by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic
Studies, NILDS, in collaboration with
the Kukah Centre, in Abuja.
He also said Nigerians need someone who understands the situation of
things in the country.
“I am the Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, I have
spent about N30 million because my priests were kidnapped, and I have nowhere
to turn to.
“I am not ashamed to say it because these
are essential realities. Anyone who wants to become president of Nigeria cannot
pretend to stand before me without giving me empirical evidence from his or her
record about how they intend to deal with these issues because there is a
collective feeling of alienation”, he said.
Kukah further added that his nephew and the
driver of the vehicle were yet to regain their freedom.