DHAKA: One of Nigeria’s most senior Anglican clerics, who was kidnapped by armed men more than a week ago, has been freed.

Archbishop Ignatius Kattey was released without a ransom on Saturday evening near the southern city of Port Harcourt, police said.

He was in a stable condition, reports the BBC.

Officials provided no further information about his captors.

Kidnapping for ransom has become common in the oil-rich Niger Delta region around Port Harcourt in recent years.

Numerous armed gangs operate in the area following years of violent protests against the oil industry.

Archbishop Kattey is the head of the Anglican Church in the predominantly Christian Niger Delta.

The cleric and his wife Beatrice were seized close to their Port Harcourt residence on 6 September. His wife was released unharmed several hours later.

‘The archbishop was released behind a filling station at Eleme in Rivers state,’ police spokeswoman Angela Agabe said in a statement.

‘His captors dropped him when the police were about to close in on them. No ransom was paid.’

Last year, the mother of finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was abducted and held for five days.

BDST: 2019 HRS, SEPT 15, 2013
RoR/RK