A kidnapped pastor, Gabriel Joseph Dipak, has recounted a harrowing encounter with armed bandits in Plateau State, revealing how his colleague, Pastor Emmanuel Hills, was killed while attempting to escape from their abductors.
Dipak, a pastor with the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), and Hills, a Ghanaian-Nigerian cleric and former Dunamis Church pastor, were abducted on Friday, August 28, 2026, while travelling from Jos to Bokkos in Plateau State.
The two clerics were reportedly among passengers travelling along the Barkin Ladi-Bokkos Road when their vehicle encountered an armed roadblock.
According to Dipak, the attackers emerged from the bush and ordered everyone in the vehicle to lie down before robbing the passengers.
He said the other passengers, including Hills’ wife, were allowed to leave after the attackers identified the two men as pastors.
Dipak explained that he and Hills were subsequently taken into the surrounding hills, where Hills attempted to escape.
The attackers reportedly pursued him and, after catching up with him, killed him.
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Narrating the incident during a video interview with conflict journalist Masara Kim Usman, Dipak said the killing occurred shortly after Hills made his escape attempt.
“We were approaching an intersection that would lead to Bokkos at about 9 pm when we ran into a roadblock,” Dipak recounted.
He said the attackers later took him to their camp, tied his hands and told him they had been monitoring his movements from Jos.
According to him, the kidnappers also questioned him about his ethnic background and claimed he was fortunate not to belong to certain local ethnic groups, threatening that they would have killed him immediately if he did.
Dipak said he was eventually released the following evening after the kidnappers contacted his family and a ransom was reportedly arranged for his freedom.
The incident has once again raised concerns over the security situation along parts of Plateau State, particularly the safety of travellers and residents in areas affected by banditry and armed attacks.
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