The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has arrested four individuals including a man, his wife, girlfriend, and her younger sister for staging a fake kidnapping in a failed bid to extort ₦5 million from the girlfriend’s father.
According to a statement by the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, Josephine Adeh, the alleged kidnap was orchestrated by two sisters, Joy Innocent and her younger sibling, 16-year-old Lead Way Innocent, in collaboration with Joy’s boyfriend, Mayowa Adedeji, and his legal wife, Tina Mayowa.
The incident unfolded when the girls’ father, a Mr. Innocent, a resident of Jikwoyi Phase II, reported to the police on 30 July that his teenage daughter had been missing since 18 July, after leaving home to write an exam at Government Secondary School, Karu.
He later received a call from an unknown number demanding a ₦5 million ransom for her release.
Acting swiftly, the Divisional Police Officer in Jikwoyi launched an investigation using intelligence and digital tracking, which led officers to a residence within the same community.
There, they found the supposedly abducted teenager, Lead Way Innocent, sitting calmly and chatting with Mrs. Mayowa far from the condition of a distressed kidnapping victim.
Preliminary investigation revealed the shocking truth that Lead Way had not only faked her own abduction but was an active participant in the extortion scheme.
Her older sister, Joy, remained at home and pretended ignorance, watching their father suffer emotionally as he struggled to raise the ransom money. Both girls had conspired with Joy’s boyfriend, Mr. Adedeji, who involved his wife, Tina, to complete the ploy.
“All four suspects have confessed to the crime and are currently in police custody, they will be charged to court after the conclusion of the investigation, Adeh stated.
The FCT Police Command warned residents against weaponizing emotional manipulation for financial gain, stressing that such fraudulent activities not only waste police resources but erode public trust in genuine distress calls.
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