A 16-year-old girl in Ebonyi State has been caught for faking her own kidnap and demanding a ransom of ₦2 million from her family.
The girl, who is in SS2 at a private secondary school in Abakaliki, was said to have carried out the plan with help from a family friend.
Police spokesperson in Ebonyi, Joshua Ukandu, told journalists on Monday that the girl lives in Izzi Local Government Area and attends a school on Watchman Street in Abakaliki.
“She was supposed to resume for third term on Saturday,” Ukandu said.
According to the police, the teenager told them she had gone to buy second-hand clothes — known as “okrika” — when someone tapped her from behind. She claimed to have passed out and later woke up at Ishieke Junction in Ebonyi Local Government Area.
She also said she usually dreams of being kidnapped and that her mother always prays against it.
Instead of going home, the girl went to a family friend’s house, even though the person didn’t know she was supposed to be missing.
She then used the man’s phone to send a message to her brother, claiming she had been kidnapped and demanding a ransom of ₦2 million.
Her brother asked to speak to the kidnappers and know their location, but she refused and blocked him. Later, she unblocked his number and sent him a bank account number — belonging to the same family friend.
Unknown to her, police had already tracked the phone. Officers stormed the house and arrested everyone involved in the plan.
Ukandu confirmed, “We have launched a full investigation into the matter.”
The girl has now been reunited with her family, but the police say investigations will continue, especially because of her age.
