A couple in Minna has been apprehended by the Niger State Police Command for faking the kidnap of the wife in other to collect money from the father-in-law.
The couple, 39-year-old Mohammed Mohammed and 31-year-old Sadiya Ibrahim Umar, reportedly said that the kidnap was staged because they wanted to make some money, as they were tired of being poor.
Sadiya was reported to have been abducted on the 15th of July when she was returning from the school where she taught.
A day later, Sadiya’s father was contacted by an unknown caller who demanded a N5 million ransom, before pleas from the father made the ‘abductor’ to reduce the ransom to N1 million.
After raising the money, Sadiya’s father dropped the ransom at a location in Rafin-yashi, Minna, where he was directed to drop it by the abductors.
Speaking while being paraded in Minna, Sadiya’s husband, Mohammed said he decided to plan the fake kidnap because he needed money to undertake a dealership with BUA Cement Company, Kano.
“I was told that with N1.5 million, I will get to be a dealer for BUA Cement Company in Kano. So when we discussed, we knew that no one would give us that much money; that was why we decided to go on the fake kidnapping because we heard that money is paid for those kidnapped.”
Mohammed further disclosed that he gave his wife’s phone to his friend who called his father-in-law and initiated the demand for ransom.
READ ALSO: Followers of Sheikh Zakzaky vow to continue protests in Abuja
However, it was the wife, Sadiya, who burst the bubble when she was invited for questioning by the Police.
Confessing that she conspired with her husband to fake her kidnap, Sadiya said she was taken from Minna to Nugupi village in Paiko Local Government Area, where she was kept by her husband at his friend’s place.
The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Wasiu Abiodun, said the case is under investigation and that the suspects will be arraigned in court as soon as the investigation is concluded.
Abiodun disclosed that fake kidnapping is becoming a trend in Niger State, as Sadiya’s case is the third of its kind in recent times.
