The Anambra State Police Command has announced the arrest of two suspects over a staged kidnapping designed to extort millions of naira from the victim’s family.
The suspects, identified as Chinecherem Nwaokoye, a 28-year-old female student of Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), and her alleged accomplice, Chinecherem Aronu, a 30-year-old male, were apprehended by operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) following an intelligence-led investigation.
The Public Relations Officer of the Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, said the arrest followed a disturbing report received by the Command on Tuesday, July 8, 2025, when Nwaokoye’s family reported her missing.
She had told her family she was returning home from school but never arrived, and efforts to reach her proved abortive as her phone remained switched off.
The following day, July 9, her family received a call from a man who claimed responsibility for her abduction and demanded a ransom of N10 million.
The police said, “After negotiations, the ransom was reduced to N3,000,000, and a part payment of N1,000,000 was later paid into the victim’s bank account.”
Acting on intelligence, police operatives tracked the suspects to a lodge at UNIZIK Temporary Site in Awka, where Nwaokoye was found safe and in the company of Aronu.
Under interrogation, the suspects reportedly confessed to staging the kidnapping.
The police spokesperson said Nwaokoye admitted to masterminding the scheme after being inspired by a movie plot, intending to use the extorted funds to help her boyfriend start a business.
The police said, “Upon interrogation, the duo confessed to staging the kidnapping as a plot to extract money from the victim’s family.
“The female suspect, Chinecherem Nwaokoye, admitted she masterminded the plan after watching a movie and intended to give the money to her boyfriend to start a business.”
Reacting to the arrest, the Commissioner of Police, CP Ikioye Orutugu, ordered the immediate prosecution of the suspects and condemned the act as “a clear sign of deepening moral decay” among youths.
Ikenga quoted the CP as “warning that the Command will not tolerate such criminal deception”.
The incident is the latest in a troubling series of self-orchestrated abductions aimed at extracting money from family members.
In March 2024, a 19-year-old student in Lagos faked her own kidnapping to pressure her parents into funding a trip abroad.
Similarly, in August 2023, police in Delta State arrested two siblings who staged the fake abduction of their cousin in a failed bid to split the ransom.
Security experts have warned that the glamorization of crime in films and social media, coupled with economic desperation and weakened family oversight, is contributing to a growing trend of staged abductions among young Nigerians.
The police command urged the public to report suspicious activities promptly and pledged to continue using intelligence-driven operations to tackle emerging criminal tactics.
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