A 54-year-old woman in Delta State has allegedly conspired with others to stage her own abduction and demand N15m from her younger brother as ransom.
The woman, identified as Umadi, reportedly told her brother that she was abducted by gunmen while going to buy medicine, warning that the supposed kidnappers would kill her if he failed to pay the money.
However, an investigation by the Delta State Police Command reportedly exposed the alleged abduction as a plot to extort money from her family.
The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Bright Edafe, disclosed this in a video released by the command, saying the incident was reported at the Ogwashi-Uku Police Division on October 23, 2026.
Edafe said the Commissioner of Police subsequently directed operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit, Ubuluku, to investigate the report and secure the woman’s release.
He said intelligence gathered by the operatives revealed that the woman had allegedly arranged the abduction herself to defraud her younger brother.
Expressing surprise at the development, the police spokesman said the command had previously encountered cases of staged kidnappings involving teenagers but had never handled one involving a woman of her age.
“In the past, we have heard of cases of self-kidnap, fake kidnap that was done by underage or, let me say, teenagers of 15, 16, 17 to 20, but we have never had a case that involved a 54-year-old elderly woman.
“It is quite unfortunate that she faked her own kidnap because she wanted to extort her younger brother a sum of N15m,” Edafe said.
During interrogation, the suspect reportedly admitted arranging the fake abduction and contacting her brother to demand the ransom.
When asked how much she requested, she answered, “N15m.”
She also admitted threatening that the supposed kidnappers would kill her if the money was not paid.
The incident has generated concerns over the use of kidnapping claims as a means of extortion, particularly the emotional and financial pressure such incidents place on families.
Authorities are expected to investigate the circumstances surrounding the alleged incident and determine whether the woman acted alone or had accomplices.
“Some of the people she conspired with were seen on their trail because obviously she didn’t do it alone, and we are definitely going to arrest them,” Edafe said.
The command said efforts were ongoing to apprehend the suspected accomplices and unravel the circumstances surrounding the incident.
The arrest comes amid persistent concerns over kidnapping and ransom demands in the country, with the incident highlighting how criminals could exploit families’ fears over the safety of their loved ones to extort money.
