A 22-year-old suspected kidnapper in Delta State, Michael James, has confessed to staging his own abduction and demanding a N25 million ransom from his family to replace money entrusted to him by his sister, Nigerian Tribune reports.
The Delta State Commissioner of Police, Olufemi Oyeniyi, disclosed this while briefing journalists at the weekend.
According to the police commissioner, the suspect left home under the pretext of disposing of refuse but later called his family, claiming he had been kidnapped and that his abductors were demanding N25 million for his release.
“The command received a distress call on July 1, 2026, at about 7:30 a.m., that one Michael James, aged 22, of Idumuesah/Owa-Alero Road, Owa, in Ika North-East Local Government Area, left home to dispose of refuse but did not return. His family reported that kidnappers were demanding a ransom of N25 million for his release.”
“Working on technically generated intelligence, operatives of the command were promptly deployed to the scene and cordoned off the surrounding bushes.”
“On noticing that the operatives were closing in on him, the suspect suddenly emerged from the bush, claiming he had escaped from his abductors,” Oyeniyi said.
The commissioner said that during interrogation, James confessed to staging the kidnap.
According to him, the suspect admitted he had spent money given to him by his sister and devised the fake kidnap to raise funds to replace it.
Meanwhile, operatives of the Ozoro Division in Isoko North Local Government Area rescued a two-week-old baby boy and arrested two women over alleged child trafficking.
Oyeniyi said the baby’s mother, whose identity was withheld, reported that after giving birth on June 15, 2026, a woman identified only as “Mama,” with whom she lived and worked, informed her that the baby would be taken to an orphanage.
However, when she later requested to see her child, she was denied access, prompting her to report the matter to the police.
Acting on the complaint, police operatives launched an investigation, leading to the arrest of Evelyn Otubo and Esther Joseph, who were allegedly in possession of the baby while waiting to hand the child over to an intending buyer.
The baby was rescued unharmed and reunited with the mother.
