Delta Man Faked Kidnap to Steal N25m from Family

A man from Delta State, Michael James, has explained why he faked his own kidnapping to get N25 million from his family.

In a video shared by the Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, Bright Edafe, James said he did this because he owed his brother and sister money that he had already spent and could not pay back.

He said on July 1, he was told to go dispose of some waste, but instead of going home afterwards, he left his wheelbarrow and hid in a bush nearby.

"My name is Michael James. I am from Edo State, but I live in Delta State. I kidnapped myself. The reason I kidnapped myself was that I owed my sister and my brother, and I had already spent the money. I had no way of paying it back.

"On the 1st of this month, they asked me to go and throw away the trash. After throwing away the trash, I parked my wheelbarrow and entered the bush."

James added that after some time, his mother called him but he did not pick up. Later, he called her to say he had been kidnapped and that the kidnappers wanted N25 million.

"After some time, my mum started calling me, but I did not answer. Later, I called my mum and told her that I had been kidnapped and that the kidnappers were demanding N25m. Then I ended the call."

He claimed he called his mother again, saying his abductors were beating him and that he had sent N700,000 to them.

He explained that when he found out his mother had contacted the police and local vigilantes to rescue him, he got scared.

"They kept calling me, but I did not answer. Later, when I picked up, I told her that the kidnappers were flogging me and that she should transfer N700,000 to them."

James said that later, when he finally answered his mother's call, she told him that the police and vigilantes were already on the case and would rescue him.

"In the evening, I realised it was about to rain, so I took a motorcycle to another place. I then called them and told them that I had escaped from the kidnappers," he said.

Bright Edafe, the Police Public Relations Officer in Delta State, said they acted quickly on the reported kidnapping by using digital intelligence to find James's location.

"We received a distress call that he was kidnapped. The command embarked on digitally generated intelligence and trailed him to where he was allegedly being kept, only for the suspect to run out, claiming he escaped from the kidnappers."

Edafe added that James later admitted to faking his kidnapping to swindle his family out of N25 million.

This is not the first time people have pretended to be kidnapped to extort money from their families.