Woman stages own kidnap in Delta, demands N15m ransom

In Delta State, a 54-year-old woman has allegedly orchestrated her own kidnapping and demanded N15 million from her younger brother as ransom, according to a report by the Delta State Police Command. Identified as Umadi, the suspect reportedly told her brother that she had been abducted by gunmen while on her way to purchase medicine, threatening that the kidnappers would kill her if he didn't pay the money.

During an interrogation, the woman admitted to arranging the fake abduction and contacting her brother to demand the ransom, revealing that she demanded N15 million and threatened that the hypothetical kidnappers would kill her if the ransom was not paid. However, when asked why she subjected her younger brother to such distress despite not having wronged him, the suspect provided no satisfactory explanation.

The Delta State Police Command investigated the incident and discovered that the alleged abduction was a scheme to extort money from her family. Police Public Relations Officer, SP Bright Edafe, disclosed that the incident was reported on October 23, 2026, at the Ogwashi-Uku Police Division. Edafe stated that the Commissioner of Police directed the Anti-Kidnapping Unit, Ubuluku, to investigate and secure the woman's release.

The police spokesman expressed surprise at the development, noting that the command had previously dealt with staged kidnappings involving teenagers but had never encountered one with a woman of her age. The command revealed that the woman claimed she was held captive for 12 days and commended her brother for reporting the incident to the police instead of paying the ransom.

The police are still investigating and intend to apprehend the alleged accomplices involved in the scheme.