Officers of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) have arrested a female teacher in the Abriba-Ohafia area of Abia state, identified as Chizoba, for allegedly staging her own kidnap and collecting ransom.
According to The Sun, the lady, a mother of three, was arrested alongside two of her alleged accomplices identified as Anthony and Ezema, who joined forces with her in organizing the fake kidnap saga.
The trio were able to receive the sum of N500k through Chizoba’s bank account as ransom, before luck ran out on them and they were apprehended by operatives of the Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT).
It was further reported that a member of Chizoba’s family broke the news of her kidnap and subsequent demand for a ransom of N2m, to the Inspector General of Poice (IGP) Adamu Mohammed.
Upon receiving the information and the threat to life of the kidnapped lady on failure to adhere to the ransom terms, the IGP deployed a team of IRT operatives, headed by DCP Abba Kyari, to track and bring the suspects to book.
The IRT men who were armed with tracking devices managed to trail the teacher and her supposed assailants to an uncompleted building at Agborji community in Abriba-Ohafia. However, upon getting to the point of rescue, they were shocked to discover that the lady in question was intimately involved with one of her supposed kidnappers.
Speaking in an interview, the arrested teacher denied staging her kidnap and made claims that her boyfriend Ezema, who also happened to be among her accomplices, hypnotized her.
She said: “I am a primary school teacher. I was formerly married and I had three children with my former husband. I met Ezema on Facebook and he told me he is a fashion designer and I told him that I have some jobs for him and from that point we started a relationship. At one point in our relationship, we discoursed about traveling out of the country and he told me that he had once spent N300,000 for a travelling visa which did not work out.”
The lover on the hand denied Chizoba’s claim and insisted that the kidnap was staged by both of them in an effort to travel outside the country.
Ezema said: “We are lovers and we planned the fake kidnap together. We wanted to travel outside the country. She told me that her relatives would pay. We met on Facebook and we love ourselves. I know that she is ashamed of what really happened. I feel for her, but she should not make me look like a criminal.”
Narrating further, Chizoba explained how the scenario played out on the day of the kidnap.
She said: “So, on March 13, I was on my way to visit my sister and a vehicle stopped in front of me where I saw six persons, including a lady inside it. The lady among them called me and when I responded, she asked me to enter the vehicle. It was at that time that I lost consciousness and I later found myself in my boyfriend’s home.
“I later realised that my boyfriend took my phone and used it to call my sister. He started demanding for ransom and when my sister spoke with me, I had no option than to beg her to pay the ransom. I then sent my account number to my sister and she paid N500,000 into the account. Two days after the money was paid, the police arrested me and my boyfriend,”