Operatives of the Edo State Police Command have arrested an 18-year-old girl, Obehi Odine, for allegedly staging her own kidnapping in a bid to extort money.
The command’s Public Relations Officer, ASP Eno Ikoedem, disclosed this in a statement issued on Tuesday in Benin City.
Ikoedem said the suspect allegedly demanded a ransom of N10m before she was tracked and arrested by operatives of the Ekpoma Division on January 12, 2026.
“Following a report of a suspected kidnapping along Old INEC Road, Ekpoma, received at about noon on 12th January, 2026, the new DPO immediately swung into action and deployed operational resources to track the caller,” the police spokesperson said.
She added that intelligence-led investigations later revealed that the incident was a case of self-abduction, contrary to the initial report.
According to the command, the suspect confessed to fabricating the kidnapping plot in order to extort money.
Reacting to the development, the Commissioner of Police, Monday Agbonika, warned residents against making false kidnapping reports and engaging in deceptive acts that could compromise public safety.
Agbonika said such actions waste security resources, create panic and erode public trust, assuring that offenders would be prosecuted in line with the law while urging citizens to continue providing credible information to the police.
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