20-year-old student conspired with his friends to stage his own kidnapping and requested a $700,000 ransom from his father.

 

Story by Iyiola Ayomide

20-year-old Student faked his own kidnap with his Friends, demanded $700, 000 ransom from his Father

Operatives of the Nigeria Police Force have nabbed a 20-year-old boy, identified as Collins Oluchukwu Ikwebe alongside five of his schoolmates, for allegedly faking his own kidnap and requesting the sum of over $700,000 in ransom from his father.

A friend of one of the suspects had alleged wrongful detention of the suspects via social media which drew attention to the issue.

The friend, who wrote on X with the handle #FlackoT, said: “Guys, I’m locked up in Ikeja Police Station. I don’t have enough time and I don’t know what to do. So, this is my only alternative. So, y’all know what happened to me.

“Someone faked his kidnapping and requested for ransom from his dad. His dad reported the case to SARS. They tracked his phone. I genuinely knew nothing about it until I reached the station.

“His dad came to the station and requested his release, but they (police) insisted on (charging) the case to court, which could take up to three years to resolve. Other people that were in the apartment with him are locked up as wellHowever, while reacting to the allegations the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in Lagos, Benjamin Hundeyin, via his X handle said: “Following a report from his family, our investigation established that 20-year-old Collins Oluchukwu Ikwebe faked his own kidnap.”

Hundeyin stressed that Collins’s dad received several calls from his son’s number but with different voices giving instructions on the amount of money to be paid and the methods of payment.

Hundeyin said that at different times spanning two weeks, different sums—@$500,000; $200,000; ₦2,000,000; ₦50,000; and ₦30,000”—were requested from Collins’s dad.

He wrote: “On Thursday, June 20, 2024, detectives from the Lagos State Police Command eventually busted a short-let four-bedroom apartment in Lekki where Collins and five of his schoolmates (one male, four females) had been staying for the past ten days.

“The investigation is being concluded to establish the extent of culpability of the other five occupants of the apartment.

“For now, none of the suspects has been exonerated.”