The new trend of people faking their own kidnaps to extort money from their families and loved ones is gradually becoming an issue of great concern.
Sadly, the numerous warnings from the police did not stop two university students, Ayodele Balogun and Dennis Okuomo from engaging in this illegal act.
Their evil deed was exposed after the Lagos State Police Command apprehended them.
They were arrested for concocting a kidnapping plot against themselves in a bid to extort money from their parents.
The spokesperson for the state command, Benjamin Hundeyin, disclosed this development on Thursday.
The Ransom
Hundeyin identified the culprits as 21-year-old Ayodele Balogun, a student of Lagos State University (LASU), and Dennis Okuomo, also 21, who attends the National Institute of Information Technology (NIIT) in Lagos.
The elaborate hoax involved the suspects demanding a ransom of $100,000 in Bitcoin from their distraught parents.
Hundeyin explained that Dennis Okuomo initially conceived the idea.
It was as a means to financially assist his friend Ayodele, who comes from an underprivileged background.
The Plan
To execute their plan, Ayodele vanished from his home.
Then, Dennis, using Ayodele’s phone, contacted Mr. Balogun, Ayodele’s father, to announce the kidnap.
He demanded a $20,000 ransom (approximately 30 million Naira).
The ransom was to be paid in bitcoin to a wallet address provided by the suspects, with Ayodele hiding in Dennis’s room located in his father’s hotel during this period.
Ayodele’s father, who works as a driver, was left in a state of despair, clueless about how to secure the demanded amount.
In a twist, Dennis also pretended to be kidnapped, this time setting the ransom at a staggering $100,000 (about N150 million) to be paid by his own father.
The duo subsequently took refuge in a bush for five days, hoping to pressure their families into paying the ransom.
The Escape
However, as their situation in the bush became intolerable without a ransom payment.
That was when they decided to return to Dennis’s room in the hotel.
Upon their return, they fabricated a story of a daring escape from their captors and immediately informed Ayodele’s father about their release.
Ayodele was then taken to a hospital under the pretence that he had just been freed from a kidnappers’ den.
Orchestrated Ruse
The police spokesperson confirmed that the fake kidnap suspects are now in police custody.
According to him, investigations unveiled the entire kidnap to be a ruse orchestrated by the students themselves.
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Hundeyin branded them as “perpetrators of self-kidnap,” underscoring the severity of their deceitful actions.
However, the police warned against such fraudulent fake kidnap, highlighting the distress and panic they cause to families.
Also, Police say it is unnecessary diversion of law enforcement resources.
