The Nigeria police have arrested a 37-year-old female pastor, Ruth Kenneth for allegedly providing information about congregants to kidnappers in Adamawa state.
SaharaReporters learnt that Kenneth, a mother of seven is a self-acclaimed prayer warrior who consults for people with diseases and spiritual conditions.
She was arrested after the police tracked her conversations with kidnappers who threatened to kidnap one of her patients if he failed to pay a ransom of N10 million.
As gathered, a patient suffering from an undisclosed ailment visited her prayer house along Numan Road in Yola, the state capital. After a prayer session, she claimed that it was revealed to her that kidnappers were after him.
The man, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “When my children and son-in-law took me to her prayer house for healing, she told me that she saw in a vision during prayers that my name was given to kidnappers, and that to avert being kidnapped I should buy a two-year-old ram without bargaining (over) its price.
“According to her, she needed the ram for a sacrifice to keep the kidnappers away from me. That after slaughtering the ram, she will pull one of its horns, remove something from its heart and mix it with some herbs.
“That after completing the concoction, she will bury the horn within my compound, after which no man would be able to attack my house or harm me and my family members.”
“I told her I needed to return home to raise the money. Surprisingly four days after I got back home in early November 2022, I got a strange phone call from someone demanding N10 million, else I risk being kidnapped with some members of my family,” he added.
The spokesperson for the state police command, SP Suleiman Nguroje has confirmed her arrest, saying “operatives of the Command apprehended her and investigation is ongoing”.
“The Commissioner of Police, Sikiru Akande, has ordered Criminal Investigation Department to conduct a discreet investigation into the matter as well as to ensure the prosecution of whoever is found wanting.
“The CP has also advised the public to be very careful while carrying out their daily activities and report suspicious characters around them,” he said.
