‘I was fed once daily,’ retired archbishop recounts 27-day ordeal in kidnappers’ den
The retired Archbishop of Nnewi Diocese, Anglican Communion, Most Rev. Godwin Okpala, who was kidnapped on December 6, 2024, has revealed harrowing details of his captivity.
Okpala, abducted alongside his driver during a trip to the Umuchu community in Aguata Local Government Area, Anambra State, endured 27 days in captivity before being freed on January 3, 2025.
Speaking to journalists on Thursday during a visit from former Anambra State Governor and 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, the cleric described his experience as “hellish” and “unimaginable.”
The 75-year-old cleric lamented that he and his driver were kept in a thick forest and none of the kidnappers cared, adding that for the 27 days he was with them, he did not take his bath, nor brush his teeth.
He said, “Those 27 days were hellish because the people were not behaving like human beings. They kicked us about like thrash. They kept us in a very thick forest and none of them cared.
“It did not matter to the kidnappers who anyone was and it was not a case of mistaken identity. I was in my cassock and they knew that I was a Bishop, but they didn’t care. They pulled down my cassock and asked me to undress and I had only shorts, a shirt and my collar on.
“For the 27 days that I was with them, I did not take my bath, I did not brush my teeth. They were giving me water which I don’t know the source of.
“They were giving me one meal a day and it was either rice or garri. The food was usually remnants from those they gave to boys who worked with them. They have cooks who prepare food for them there.”
The retired Archbishop thanked Obi for coming to visit him, saying that since his return from the kidnappers’ den, no one had visited him until Obi came.
“He (Obi) has again shown the humanity in him. I am not the first person he is coming to see in this manner. I want to say thank you to him for coming to visit me after my travails” he said.
Recall that the sudden disappearance of the Retired Archbishop and his driver generated tension and anxiety among the Anglican faithful in Nnewi, Anambra State and the entire state in particular.
