A 23-year-old boy, Edward Okache, has arranged for his abduction by some men in Ogun State in order to extort N10 million from his parents.
On Monday, police said Okache was apprehended along with four others, Asamoah Ernest, Isiah Uti, Ephraim Anyijor, and Charity Lukpata, whom he instructed to kidnap him.
One Comfort Okache had earlier reported via phone call to the Mowe divisional headquarters that his younger brother, who was traveling from Calabar to Lagos, had been kidnapped in the Mowe area of Ogun State.
According to Abimbola Oyeyemi, the police spokesman in Ogun, the kidnappers demanded N10 million if the boy’s relatives wanted to see him alive.
Following the report, the DPO of Mowe division, SP Folake Afeniforo, mobilized the division’s tactical teams to the area.
“After a painstaking and exhausting search of the surrounding bush in the Orimerunmu area, the victim was discovered in an unfinished building with the duo of Asamoah Ernest, a Ghanaian, and Isiah Uti, where he was tied in both hands and legs,” Oyeyemi said.
The acclaimed victim was rescued, and the two suspects found with him were apprehended.
“However, when the two arrested suspects arrived at the station, they made the shocking revelation that the so-called victim was the person who planned with them to kidnap him in order for him to extort money from his parents to invest in an online business,” it was explained.
They also admitted that the said Okache was introduced to them by Anyijor and Lukpata, both of whom are from the same Yala Local Government Area in Cross River as the victim, and that they are all involved in the planned kidnapping of Edward Okache.
Their confession, according to Oyeyemi, led to the arrest of Anyijor and Lukpata, who “all confessed to the commission of the crime.”
Lanre Bankole, the Commissioner of Police in Ogun, has directed that the case be referred to the State CIID’s anti-kidnapping unit for further investigation and possible prosecution.