The armed men who abducted a Seattle missionary earlier this week in southern Nigeria have demanded a ransom of nearly $300,000, police said Wednesday.
The Rev. Phyllis Sortor was kidnapped from the Hope Academy compound in Emiworo, Kogi state, on Monday morning, police and the Free Methodist Church said. Kogi State Police Commissioner Adeyemi Ogunjemilusi, along with senior police officers, including the head of the investigation unit and an officer from counter-terrorism unit, visited the site of the abduction Wednesday.
The Rev. Jacob Ahiaba of the Free Methodist Church there told police that Sortor went out on Monday morning to attend a meeting to try to acquire more land for a farm project, the commissioner said. She returned around 10 a.m. local time and was abducted shortly after by five armed men, he said.
Ogunjemilusi said the kidnappers are demanding a ransom of 60 million naira ($300,000). “The general concept here is that Americans have money. So they thought that by kidnapping her, they can get money,” he said. “We don’t think it’s a good idea for the family to negotiate with the abductors on the ransom because we are sure we will find her.”
Police are collaborating with security forces to make sure Sortor’s return is secured.
