…female suspect admits the staged kidnap was masterminded by her after watching a movie.
AWKA, NIGERIA – The iNews Times reports that the Anambra State Police Command has arrested two suspects allegedly behind a staged kidnapping aimed at extorting ₦10 million from the family of one of the suspects.
The suspects, 28-year-old Chinecherem Nwaokoye, a female student of the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), and her 30-year-old accomplice, Chinecherem Aronu reportedly orchestrated the fake abduction to fleece Nwaokoye’s family.
The Police Public Relations Officer of the Anambra State Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, in a statement on Monday, said operatives of the Rapid Response Squad acted on intelligence to locate the supposed victim at a lodge near the UNIZIK Temporary Site in Awka, where she was found alive with her male accomplice.
“An intelligence-led investigation into a disturbing report of the alleged abduction of Chinecherem Nwaokoye led operatives to storm the lodge, where the victim was discovered in the company of her accomplice,” Ikenga stated.
According to police findings, Nwaokoye had contacted her family on July 8, claiming she was on her way home from school but never arrived.
Her phone remained switched off throughout the day. The following day, the family received a call from a man who claimed responsibility for her kidnap and demanded ₦10 million as ransom.
Ikenga revealed that after negotiations, the ransom demand was reduced to ₦3 million, with ₦1 million reportedly paid into Nwaokoye’s own bank account.
“Upon interrogation, both suspects confessed to staging the kidnap as a plot to extort money from the victim’s family,” Ikenga said.
“The female suspect admitted she masterminded the scheme after watching a movie and intended to give the money to her boyfriend to start a business.”
The Commissioner of Police, CP Ikioye Orutugu, has ordered the immediate prosecution of the suspects and condemned the incident as a reflection of what he described as growing moral decay among some youths in the country.
“The Command will not tolerate acts of criminal deception,” Orutugu warned, while calling on parents and guardians to pay closer attention to their children’s activities and peer influences.
