The Anambra State Police Command has arrested a 28-year-old female student and her boyfriend for allegedly staging her own kidnapping in a bid to extort N10 million from her family.
The suspects, identified as Chinecherem Nwaokoye, a student of Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), and her 30-year-old partner, Chinecherem Aronu, were arrested by operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) after an intelligence-led operation.
Spokesperson of the Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, who confirmed the arrest on Sunday, said Nwaokoye’s family had reported her missing on July 8, 2025, after she claimed she was returning home from school but never arrived. Her phone was also switched off, fuelling fears of an actual abduction.
The following day, the family received a call from a man claiming responsibility for the abduction and demanding a ransom of N10 million. The ransom was later negotiated down to N3 million, with N1 million paid into the victim’s own bank account.
“Acting on credible intelligence, operatives tracked the suspects to a lodge at UNIZIK Temporary Site, Awka, where Nwaokoye was found in the company of Aronu,” Ikenga said.
Upon interrogation, the duo confessed to masterminding the fake kidnap. Nwaokoye reportedly admitted that the idea was inspired by a movie and that the plan was to raise capital for her boyfriend to start a business.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, CP Ikioye Orutugu, has ordered the immediate prosecution of the suspects, describing their actions as a “worrisome reflection of deepening moral decay among young people.”
The incident adds to a growing list of staged abductions across the country, with similar cases reported in Lagos and Delta States in recent years.
In March 2024, a 19-year-old student faked her own kidnapping to pressure her parents into sponsoring a trip abroad. Likewise, in August 2023, two siblings in Delta State staged their cousin’s abduction in a failed attempt to share the ransom.
Security experts have linked the trend to the glamorization of crime in films, economic hardship, and declining parental supervision.
The police urged the public to remain vigilant and report suspicious activities promptly, assuring that the Command will continue to rely on intelligence-driven operations to dismantle evolving criminal tactics.
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