LAGOS, NIGERIA (ANS) -- Gunmen are still holding the Anglican archbishop of the Benin Diocese in Southern Nigeria’s Edo state after abducting him last Sunday.

A story by Compass Direct News reported that Peter Imasuen, who is also the state chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), was abducted Jan. 24 in front of his official residence on his way back from a church service. The kidnappers are reportedly demanding $750,000 for his release.

The armed kidnappers reportedly followed the archbishop from the St. Matthew Cathedral to his residence, where they dragged him out of his car and took him to an unknown location.

Compass said that executive members of CAN led by Rev. Richard Ofere met with Edo Gov. Adams Oshiomhole yesterday on the abduction of the bishop. Compass reported they declined to speak to news media, but are believed to be working with family members and government officials on the matter.

Compass said Oshiomhole decried the kidnaping, which he blamed on the federal government’s withdrawal of soldiers from a state joint security program code-named, “Operation Thunderstorm” designed to help thwart militant violence and kidnappers.

Compass said he promised to meet officials of the president’s office on the need to increase security in the state and ensure that the bishop is released soon. Muslim President Umaru Yar’Adua left the country on Nov. 23 to seek treatment in Saudi Arabia, leading some to speculate on a leadership vacuum in the country.

“I feel I have failed as a governor to protect the lives of our people, but whatever we have to do will be done,” Compass reported Oshiomhole said. “I have sent for all those who should know that everybody must do what needs to be done. We can never surrender to criminals.”

According to Compass, the identity of the kidnappers was not clear. However, in recent years abducting top public figures for ransom has become common in the South-South and South- Eastern zones of the country, where militant groups have been campaigning against the poor level of development of the area.

Com pass said armed groups seeking a larger share of oil revenues for local residents have attacked oil installations in southern Nigeria since 2006. One major group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), declared an open-ended ceasefire last October.

The cease-fire was meant to open the way for talk with authorities, Compass reported, but MEND recently said it was “reviewing its indefinite ceasefire announced on Oct. 9 2009, and will announce its position on or before Jan. 30, 2010.”

Compass said in the past four years, hundreds of foreign and local oil workers have been kidnaped in the region, with many released unharmed after large ransom payments.

The militants have also blown up pipelines and offshore oil platforms.

Jeremy Reynalds is a freelance writer and the founder and CEO of Joy Junction, New Mexico's largest emergency homeless shelter, http://www.joyjunction.org He has a master's degree in communication from the University of New Mexico, and a Ph.D. in intercultural education from Biola University in Los Angeles. His newest book is "Now You See Me." Additional details on some of Reynalds' previous books are available at http://www.HomelessBook.com. He lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. For more information contact: Jeremy Reynalds at jeremyreynalds@comcast.net. Tel: (505) 400-7145.