A 28-year-old female university student has allegedly staged her kidnap in Anambra State, Nigeria’s South-east.
The suspect, Chinecherem Nwaokoye, is a student at the Enugu State University of Science and Technology.
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The police spokesperson in Anambra State, Tochukwu Ikenga, disclosed this in a statement on Monday.
Mr Ikenga, a superintendent of police, said Ms Nwaokoye allegedly colluded with two other suspects- a male and a female- to carry out the self-kidnap to extort her family.
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The police spokesperson identified the two suspects as Chinecherem Okonkwo, 28, and Chinecherem Aronu, 30.
He said police operatives have arrested all three suspects in connection with the incident.
How the self-kidnap happened
Mr Ikenga said Ms Nwaokoye contacted her family on 8 July and informed them that she was returning home from school.
But she did not arrive, and her phone was switched off throughout the day.
“On Wednesday, 9 July 2025, her family received a call from an unknown male voice who claimed responsibility for her kidnap and demanded a ransom of N10 million.
“After negotiations, the ransom was reduced to N3 million and a part payment of N1 million was later paid into the victim’s bank account,” the police spokesperson said.
He said, upon receipt of a tip-off about the incident, police operatives from Rapid Response Squad stormed a lodge located at the temporary site of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka and found the victim alive in the company of her male accomplice.
‘I staged my kidnap to raise capital for my boyfriend’s business’
Mr Ikenga said, during interrogation, the three suspects confessed that they took part in the ‘kidnap’ to extort Ms Nwaokoye’s family.
The spokesperson said Ms Nwaokoye, on her part, admitted that she masterminded her own kidnap.
According to the statement, the undergraduate claimed she engaged in self-kidnapping to raise capital for her boyfriend’s proposed business.
Road to court
Mr Ikenga said the Commissioner of Police in Anambra State, Ikioye Orutugu, has ordered that the suspects be charged in court immediately.
Mr Orutugu condemned the incident, describing it as a “clear sign of deepening moral decay among some youths” in Nigeria.
The police chief warned that the command will not tolerate such “criminal deception.”
He urged parents and guardians to pay closer attention to the activities and peer influence on their children.
Kidnap for ransom
Like other states in the South-east, cases of kidnap-for-ransom in Anambra State have increased in recent times.
Civil servants, business owners, politicians and even students have become targets of such attacks in the state lately.
READ ALSO: Court orders final forfeiture of $222,729.86 USDT recovered from Chinese nationals in Lagos
But cases of self-kidnap for ransom are not common.
Meanwhile, kidnapping has been illegal in Nigeria since May 2022.
The country’s authorities enacted the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act (2022), which outlawed all forms of kidnapping.
The Act prescribes a death sentence for kidnapping in a case where the abduction leads to loss of life and life imprisonment where there is no loss of life.
It was an amendment to the now-defunct Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act (2013), which had prescribed a 10-year jail term for kidnapping.
The new Act also prescribes at least a 15-year jail term for whoever pays ransom to free kidnap victims.
Several persons have been convicted of kidnapping across Nigeria.
An Ikeja Special Offences Court, in September 2022, sentenced kidnap kingpin, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike, alias Evans, to 21 years imprisonment for kidnapping.
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