Inside Story of how American missionary was kidnapped in Kogi as Narrated by Success Nwogu

Few weeks ago there is a kidnapping report from Kogi Sate of a Missionary Phylis Sortor, a passionate woman who has dedicated her life to help the Emiworo Community. Success Nwogu writes on how the American educationist, Phylis Sortor, who was abducted and has been released, touched lives in Emiworo, her community in Kogi State

Emiworo is a small community which sits 30 kilometers between Ajaokuta and Lokoja, the Kogi State capital. A sleepy town, Emiworo would have been covered up by hills and mountains surrounding it but the town embraced civilisation through education. One of the missionaries to have visited the town was Phyllis Sortor, who founded Hope Academy in Emiworo.

A school of 400 pupils in its nursery, primary and junior secondary arms, the ambience of the school is inviting and devoid of disturbances from the town. Sortor, through the Hope Academy and Hope Extension, runs educational services for some schools in Kogi and Akwa Ibom states.

Aside the Hope Academy at Emiworo, Sortor, through the International Child Care Ministries, a non-profit organisation, opened a new school in Enugu on January 19, 2015 with 82 children, 58 of whom are Muslims and Fulanis. One of the ICCM schools is the Bright Hope, Ikot Ntuk in Akwa Ibom State. There is another in Udung Ukoh, also in Akwa Ibom. Bright Hope School, Ikot Obonoma, also in Akwa Ibom State, is said to have transformed the entire village. Ikot Obonoma is a remote fishing village, which is situated along the Itu River and accessible only by canoe. It never had a school. SUNDAY PUNCH learnt that prior to the establishment of the school; no child in the village had ever learned how to read or write.

The missionary was said to have learnt of the village and its many children with no access to education while working in Ikot Okpara. Sortor, together with church leaders, visited the community and introduced the idea of opening a primary school in a small Free Methodist Church. With permission from the ICCM International Director, Dr. Linda Adams, they began classes in September 2013.

The woman, Phyllis Sortor

Entrance of Hope Academy, Kogi State

She is of American descent and her parents were said to be missionaries in Mozambique. She grew up in Maputo and attended high school in Zimbabwe. She graduated in 1964 from Seattle Pacific University, US, which is affiliated with the Free Methodist Church. Her passion for community development and conflict resolution propelled her to be involved in series of projects that provided basic amenities to Nigerian poor communities as well as initiatives that are targetted at either reducing or eradicating the constant clashes among Fulani herdsmen and farmers from their neighbouring communities.

The 87-year-old philanthropist taught at Wesley Evangelical School of Theology and the Modular Bible School as well as supported community health evangelism and women’s literacy projects. Investigations revealed that she was actively involved in the free education for Fulani children and even went into the bush to convince their parents of the need to allow their children have access to education.

The American missionary was committed to many social initiatives and works such as the Ero Mountain Grazing Reserve and project in Kogi State. In October 2014, she collaborated with the Kogi State government and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture to expand the score of the Ero Mountain Grazing Reserve. The Ero Mountain Grazing Reserve has at least herd of 48 cows and is said to be furnished with boreholes and other facilities.

Marriage

Sortor’s husband, James, died on October 9, 2008; after a brief illness just few months after they came to Emiworo. According to findings, Sortor conveyed James’ remains to Texas where he was buried but she returned to the community and has since stayed there.

Her abduction and release

On February 23, 2015, some gunmen attacked the school, whisked the octogenarian proprietress away and later contacted the Freeman Methodist Church to pay N60m as ransom. According to the school’s principal, Mrs. Roseline Ojone, none can fathom the reason for the kidnap.

“We were at a loss on why she deserved such sad, traumatic, inhumane and wicked treatment. Her abductors came in through the main gate and started shooting sporadically into the air. They later took her away,” Ojone said.

The abductors were said to have called the Superintendent of the Free Methodist Missionary Church, Mr. Mathias Emenike, 24 hours after the kidnap and demanded a ransom of N60m for Sortor’s release. Ojone also added that they later called Emenike, two days after Sortor’s abduction and reduced the ransom to N30m. According to her, the abductors also made their victim to speak with Emenike on the phone. Sortor was said to have appealed to him to inform the parent school in the US in order to help raise the money for her release.

Ojone said, “This school was established in 2008 to assist the orphans and the less privileged in the society. The population of the pupils is not more than 400, we could not raise such a huge sum of money.

“In this school, we have 25 teaching staff and 18 non-teaching staff. We only pay them through financial assistance we get from individuals and corporate organisations.”

In the same vein, the traditional leader of Emiworo community, Mr. Saidu Abdullahi, spoke in glowing terms of the missionary, whom he described as a shining light. The monarch said the community was saddened by her abduction.

Abdullahi said, “Since this missionary, who is a white woman, came here, she has shown great interest and commitment towards the development of the community. Since I met her, she has never had any clash with anybody. We have no reason to regret welcoming her into our community. She has also provided jobs at the Hope Academy to some of the indigenes. The community was in a mournful state when she was kidnapped and it prayed for her safe rescue and return.”

The community members and parents of the pupils in the academy commended Sortor for her unparalleled love and commitment to the welfare of the less privileged and the entire community.

One of the parents, Mr. Joseph Adamu, whose two children attend the school, said of the octogenarian, “Mama, as we often call Rev Phyllis Sortor, is God-sent and a mother of this community. She came here not to extort from us but to improve our well-being through educating our children. As peasant farmers, we had lost hope of taking our wards to school but she came and restored the lost hope. She ensured that the children enjoy basic education and just three years ago, she introduced a secondary school. The school is almost free for everybody irrespective of the religion and ethnic backgrounds.”

Another parent, Asmau Musa said she touched the lives of all the community members regardless of their religion. He said they were afraid for the safety of their children after the kidnap but were assured that the school and the government would continue to ensure the safety of their children.

He said, “I am a Muslim by faith but this woman of God has touched our lives and that of our children positively. The community was devastated when she was kidnapped. The following day, we were scared to allow our children attend school but the management of the school assured us that nothing would happen to them. Later, when I went to the school premises, I saw many policemen guarding the place and that gave us the courage to allow our wards attend school. We heard that the kidnappers demanded a lump sum before her release. ”

A Fulani parent, Fatima Jauro, whose two female children attend the school, said Sortor came to the bush where they live to convince them to send their children to school. She added that her husband, after several months of considering her appeal, accepted. According to Jauro, they had noticed tremendous positive changes in their children. Jauro said, “We were unhappy when she was kidnapped.”

Another community member who identified himself as Mr. Jimoh Adamu said Sortor relocated to the community in 2008 from Akwa-Ibom. He stated that the educationist displayed much love for the community, adding that she had invested much in nomadic education.

However, on Friday night, Sortor was released. According to the Superintendent of the Pioneer Conference of Free Methodist Church, Rev. Mathias Emenike, the octogenarian proprietress was dropped off around 8.30pm, by a motorcyclist at an isolated area near the village. He added that a man and a woman later saw her and raised the alarm after which the police was contacted. The Police, he said, later took her to safe custody.

He said, “We are happy she is out, alive and healthy. We were traumatised during her captivity and many people expressed sadness over her abduction. Even many who did not know her in person expressed sadness. People who are not even part of the church were sad when she was abducted.”

Family, others speak

Sortor’s stepson, Richard Sorter reportedly described the abduction of the missionary as ‘surreal,’ adding that he could not believe that such a humanitarian missionary could be kidnapped. He stated that the family prayed for her release. He said, “She (Sortor) believes in God and she’s doing God’s work. She is one of the most God-fearing people in the world, and all she wants is for everybody to have a good life and to be happy. She believes in equality.”

The Kogi State governor, Idris Wada, through his Special Adviser on Media and Strategy, Mr. Jacob Edi, condemned the abduction and described the act as barbaric and ungodly.

Also, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum faction led by the Plateau State governor, Mr. Jonah Jang, condemned the abduction.

The Great Transformation Support Initiative, a non-governmental organisation, was among those who clamoured for the missionary’s release by her abductors. The GTSI Kogi State Coordinator, Mr. Zacch Jonathan, said then that the group alerted all the local government coordinators of the organisation to swing into action and gather any information that would help the state government and security agencies to secure her release.

The state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Samuel Ogumjemulusi, who reportedly visited the school after the kidnap, said the police commenced investigation when they heard of the abduction.

A statement on the Free Methodist Church’s website a day after the abduction, which was attributed to Bishop David Kendall, said the United States embassy, the State Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigations, collaborated with Nigerian security agencies to ensure Sortor’s release.

He said, “The U.S. Embassy was notified, and the State Department and the FBI worked with local authorities to find and rescue her.” Also, the Free Methodist World Missions, in a statement by the Director of Clear Blue, a non-profit organisation in Africa, Brenda Young, praised Sortor for working for over 10 years in Nigeria with various non profit organisations.

Young, who is the lead pastor with Cornerstone Free Methodist Church in Akron, Ohio, stated that the mission also prayed for the victim’s release. He said he had been working with the missionary on projects to get potable water to people in Nigeria. According to him, Sortor is Nigeria’s contact for Clear Blue Global Water Project and has helped ensure that money went directly to water projects.

Young said, “Sortor, our precious friend and partner is one of the most dedicated, tireless women of God we know. She returned to her beloved Nigeria after her husband died serving there. She is always ‘pestering’ (in her words) for Clear Blue money for the Fulani people and the children’s needs. We move heaven and earth to make it happen. Because her integrity is great and anyone with a God-sized dream, sacrifice and perseverance, merits all we can do.”

She dug our first bore-hole —Village chief

The traditional leader of Emiworo community, Saidu Abdullahi, speaks about the missionary

What was the mood of the community when the administrator of Hope Academy, Rev. Phyllis Sortor, was kidnapped?

The community was in a mournful state when she was kidnapped. On that day, when we heard gunshots from the school’s direction, we mobilised the members of the community police committee to go there. We called the police and showed them the trail that the kidnappers escaped through. We also prayed for her rescue and safe return to the community.

How did the missionary relate with members of the community?

She related well with members of the community. Since she came here; she has shown great interest and commitment towards the development of the community. Since I knew her, she has never had any problems with anybody. She built the school for the community.

Has the school impacted positively on the community?

Yes, it has greatly assisted in the training of our children and opened up the community such that some important people now come to the place. I gave the land to the woman free of charge to build the school. We have reaped the benefits of the school. We have no reason to regret her presence in our community. She has also provided jobs at the Hope Academy to some of our community members. Only few of our children pay the little school fees charged. The remaining ones are on scholarship she provided. She dug the first bore-hole in our community.