The Police in Delta State have arrested a woman for faking her kidnap and collecting N3 million ransom after spending N3.6 million loan she took for her bridal shower in a luxury hotel in the state.
The police spokesperson in the state, Bright Edafe, disclosed this in a statement on Monday.
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Operatives sprang into action on 21 July after receiving a report of a woman abducted by armed men in the Bonsaac area of Asaba, said Mr Edafe, a superintendent of police.
He said two suspects, Alfred Elisha at Koka Roundabout, Asaba, and Ugochukwu Adim off DLA Road, Asaba, were arrested the following day.
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“Upon arrest of the suspect, he confessed that it was not a case of an actual kidnapping but a plot between the victim and himself. His revelation led to the arrest of the other suspect, Merit Eleh, 29.
“Ms Eleh confessed that the money loaned to her by her brother, out of N3.6 million, she used it to sponsor her bridal shower and hotel expenses during her wedding, which took place in March 2025.
“She further stated that she faked her kidnapping and received a ransom of N3 million and gave her accomplices N500,000 and took N2.5 million for herself,” the police said.
Similarly, Mr Edafe, in a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES on Thursday, said operatives in the state arrested suspected kidnappers and recovered arms and ammunition from them.
Mr Edafe said the suspects were arrested last Sunday after the police raided their hideout along Ibusa Road.
He said the arrested “notorious kidnapper,” Chiadiji Collins, also known as “Smooth,” 42, has been on the command’s watchlist for a series of kidnapping activities within Ibusa/ Ogwashi-Uku and Asaba axis.
“Upon interrogation of the suspect, he led operatives to his residence at Ewulu community in Aniocha South LGA, Delta State, where a search warrant was executed, during which one AK-47 rifle, 40 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition were recovered.
The police said their investigation led to the arrest of another suspect, Ezechie Andrew of the same community, where two pump action and two live cartridges were recovered.
There has been a surge in kidnappings in the oil-rich Delta State.
In the first week of the month, this newspaper reported how the police arrested a suspected kidnapper and armed robbery syndicate terrorising Ughelli, Warri, and Agbarho and its environs. A POS machine used for ransom collection was recovered from the suspect, the police had said.
In the middle of the month, the police operatives in the state arrested five suspected kidnappers and recovered N5 million ransom after trailing them to their hideout at Ogwashi Ukwu, Oshimili North LGA of the state. The police said the N5 million recovered from one of the suspects, Sanusi Abdullahi, was part of the ransom they collected from one of their victims.
The following day, 16 July, the police killed six kidnap suspects in the state.
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Mr Edafe said the suspects were shot dead when operatives raided their hideout on the Ughelli-Patani Expressway.
And on 23 July, this newspaper reported how the Nigerian Army, Sector 1 Joint Task Force, Operation Delta Safe arrested three suspected kidnappers in Ughelli North Local Government Area of the state after tracking them to their hideout following a tip off.
The task force leader said there was a shootout when the security operatives approached the suspects, resulting in one suspect, 31-year-old Justwill Brodeick, sustaining gunshot wounds, while two other suspects, 29-year-old Olokepomu Kelvin and 22-year-old Oghenekaro Jonathan, were apprehended.
