A 23-year-old woman, Nmesoma Josephine Nwoye, has been arrested alongside her boyfriend, Chibuike Ogbu, for allegedly faking her own abduction in a bid to extort money from her parents.
The Anambra State Police Command confirmed the arrest in a statement issued on Friday by its spokesperson, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, who disclosed that the suspects had already received part of the ransom before their arrest.
Ikenga said the lovers had initially demanded N15 million from Nmesoma’s parents but later agreed to accept N3 million, which was paid into the woman’s personal bank account.
He added that detectives recovered N1.2 million — part of the ransom — during the operation that led to their arrest.
The statement read in part: “the suspects identified as Nmesoma Josephine Nwoye, female, aged 23 years, and Chibuike Ogbu, male, aged 24 years, were arrested after intelligence-led operations uncovered that the supposed victim conspired with her boyfriend to stage her own abduction.
The operatives also recovered the sum of N1,200,000 (one million and two hundred thousand naira), being part of the ransom earlier paid by the girl’s family members.”
The Commissioner of Police in Anambra State, Ikioye Orutugu, condemned the act, describing it as a product of moral decadence among youths.
He warned that the police would not tolerate criminal schemes disguised as kidnappings, stressing that the rising trend of self-abduction for financial gain was dangerous to society.
Orutugu urged parents, guardians, and religious leaders to intensify efforts in instilling moral values, integrity, and discipline in young people.
Both suspects are currently in custody and will be charged to court upon conclusion of investigations.
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