Abuja man fakes kidnapping to raise N4m for Christmas

An Abuja-based security guard identified as Sunday has narrated how he staged a self-kidnapping scheme to extort N4m from his family because he needed money to travel to his village for Christmas.

Sunday disclosed this in an interrogation video shared on Facebook on Wednesday by the Federal Capital Territory Police Public Relations Officer, Josephine Adeh.

According to Adeh, Sunday allegedly used his friend’s phone to reach out to his family, informing them that he had been kidnapped and that his abductors were demanding N4m as ransom.

The PPRO noted that the suspect carried out the act without informing the friend whose phone he used. When his family later contacted the friend to appeal for a reduction in the ransom and pleaded that Sunday should not be killed, the friend was shocked.

Adeh added that when the friend realised that he had been falsely implicated, he reported the matter to the police, leading to Sunday’s arrest.

Adeh said, “Sunday staged his own kidnapping and demanded a ransom of N4 million from his family using his colleague’s phone because he needed money to travel to the East for the Christmas holidays.

“He called his parents with his friend’s phone, demanding the sum of N4m and alleging that the friend had kidnapped him.

The friend did not even understand what he was saying, as Sunday only borrowed the phone to make a call and was speaking Igbo.

“As luck ran out on him, the family later reached out to Suleman, begging him to reduce the amount and not to kill Sunday. However, the friend was very surprised and stated that he had not kidnapped anyone and that Sunday was fine. He then went to the Jabi Police Station and reported the incident.”

While being interrogated, Sunday admitted that he used his friend’s phone to make the distress call to his family to fake a kidnapping and demand ransom.

He also stated in the video that he orchestrated the plan to extort the money because he wanted to travel to his village in the eastern part of the country.

Sunday said, “My name is Sunday. I used my friend’s phone to call my people and tell them that my friend had kidnapped me. I did that because I needed money to go to the village. I demanded N4m as ransom. I do not feel okay about what I did.”

This is not the first time individuals have taken advantage of the security situation to orchestrate self-kidnapping schemes and extort family members.

PUNCH Metro reported last Thursday that a 26-year-old woman, identified simply as Misturah, was arrested for allegedly staging her own abduction and extorting N2.5m from her husband under the guise of a kidnapping.

Our correspondent gathered that the incident was reported to the police on November 24 when a lawyer, Hamzat (surname withheld), contacted the police to report that his brother’s wife had been kidnapped by unknown armed men.(Punch)