The police command in Lagos State has arrested a 26-year-old housewife and her 30-year-old accomplice for allegedly staging her own kidnapping and extorting N2.5 million from her husband.
The command’s spokesperson, SP Abimbola Adebisi, confirmed the arrest in a statement issued on Saturday in Lagos.
Ms Adebisi said the command received a distress call on November 24 from the husband of the suspect through one of its emergency lines, reporting that his wife had been kidnapped by armed men.
She said the caller disclosed that the alleged kidnappers initially demanded a ransom of N10 million, which was later reduced to N3 million, adding that after he paid N2.5 million, the woman was still not released.
Upon receipt of the complaint, the command special squad immediately deployed human and technical assets to track the alleged kidnappers.
“The supposed victim was eventually released and reunited with her family,” Ms Adebisi said.
Ms Adebisi said that during police debriefing, the woman claimed she was abducted by six armed men in a silver Toyota Venza, taken to their hideout and dispossessed of her iPhone 12 Pro Max.
“She further claimed that the ransom paid by her husband was first credited into her bank account before being handed over to the kidnappers,” she said.
Ms Adebisi, however, said that police investigations revealed several inconsistencies in her narrative.
She said that on December 3, operatives apprehended the accomplice in Ede area of Osun State, adding that a SIM card used to register the WhatsApp account through which ransom negotiations were conducted was recovered from him.
“During interrogation, the accomplice confessed that the suspect requested the use of his SIM card to create the WhatsApp account used for the ransom negotiations.
“He admitted providing the one-time password (OTP) sent to his line, which enabled her to operate the account,” Ms Adebisi said.
According to her, following the confession, the suspect was confronted and she admitted to faking her own kidnapping to extort money from her husband, who resides in South Africa.
She added that further investigation led to the recovery of the iPhone 12 Pro Max, which the suspect had earlier claimed was with the kidnappers.
“The phone was recovered from a 34-year-old man, who told investigators that he bought it from the suspect for N380,000 after being warned not to insert any SIM card into it,” she said.
Ms Adebisi said investigations were ongoing and that the suspect and her accomplice would be charged to court upon the conclusion of the investigation.
She added that the Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, Olohundare Jimoh, reiterated the command’s commitment to protecting lives and property, while warning the public against false reporting, criminal deception and acts capable of diverting critical security resources.
The spokesperson urged residents to remain law-abiding and to promptly report suspicious activities through the command’s emergency numbers: 07061019374, 08065154338, 08063299264 and 08039344870.
(NAN)