CATHOLIC priest Father Bernard Adedayo has regained his freedom after he was abducted by cultists who kidnapped him and held him hostage in a remote forest for refusing to join their cult and serve as one of its patrons.

Ordained by the Bishop of Nnewi, Reverend Hillary Okeke, at the Saint Georges’ Catholic Church, Orifite, Anambra State, Father Adedayo was posted to the Catholic Church Assumption, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State shortly after the ordination. However, his enthusiasm to carry the gospel beyond Ijebu-Ode pre-occupied his young mind, and so, from village to village, he went like a humble servant, proclaiming the good news.

However, this excitement was short-lived when the young priest got his first baptism of fire as some alleged members of a renowned cult group kidnapped him. This firebrand Catholic priest eventually became a guest to kidnappers in a forest that was home to reptiles and carnivorous animals.

Father Adedayo said: “They said to me Father, we would want you to join our group and I asked them which group, as I only knew of the Association of Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary, Saint Anthony of Padua, Legion of Mary and the Charismatic Renewal of Nigeria. However, they said theirs was none of these and walked away.

 “After some time, another group accosted me but, this time, they introduced themselves as members of a secret cult and said we want to work with you and as time progresses, we would make you one of our patrons. My response to their request was polite but firm as I asked them what light had got to do with darkness and told them that we had nothing in common, so we could not work together. "

 He added that his reply marked the beginning of a battle that almost took his life as they threatened to kill him.  On the day he was abducted, the reverend father was rounding off a mass in a nearby village when five hefty men, armed with assault rifles, approached him, bundled him into a vehicle and zoomed off.

 “All entreaties to allow me install the Blessed Sacrament fell on deaf ears and again, I made on appeal to them to allow me pack some of my personal effects all to no avail. Perhaps they thought that any attempt to give me a breathing space might lead to my escape, so, they zoomed off.

 “We eventually got to an uncompleted building in a forest and for one long silent night, I was with them in a place I didn’t know. After a while, one of them gave me a clue as to why I was kidnapped when he said, Father, you have proved to be very stubborn and I don’t know why," Father Adedayo added.

 On the day Father Adedayo regained his freedom, he said that when eventually he opened his eyes after prayers, there was nobody in the house except him. He said that the Lord then ministered unto him saying What are you waiting for? Stand up and go.

 After that horrifying experience, the superior general of the Vincentian Order in Nigeria thought it expedient to re-assign Father Adedayo to another parish in Enugu Diocese. He was there before he was deployed to a parish in Lagos.