The Benue State Police Command has arrested two women for allegedly staging a fake kidnapping in a bid to extort ransom from a family.
The command’s spokesperson, DSP Peter Aondona, said one of the suspects, Mary Torkuma, allegedly conspired with her friend, Evergreen Samuel, to deceive her family into believing she had been abducted so they could demand a ransom.
Police said Torkuma left her residence in Akpehe, Makurdi, on July 12 to visit Samuel, who lives in the North Bank area of the state capital. Days later, Torkuma’s mother, who resides in Lagos State, reportedly received a phone call from an unknown number claiming that her daughter had been kidnapped and demanding ransom.
Following the report, operatives of the Command’s Violence Crime Response Unit launched an intelligence-led investigation, which led to a hotel in the Ankpa Quarters area of Makurdi, where the two women were found. Investigators later discovered that the alleged kidnap had been staged to extort money from Torkuma’s mother.
The police said Evergreen Samuel had travelled from Abia State to participate in the alleged scheme, adding that both suspects are currently in custody while investigations continue.
The command said the suspects would be charged to court upon the conclusion of the investigation, while warning members of the public against engaging in criminal acts, including fake kidnapping, for financial gain.
