Delta Police-Woman Fakes Own Kidnap to Repay N3.6m She Spent on Wedding

The Delta State Police Command has arrested a 27-year-old woman, Merit Alice, who confessed to staging her own kidnapping in a desperate attempt to repay ₦3.6 million she misappropriated.

According to the police, Alice admitted to collaborating with two accomplices to fake her abduction after misusing funds entrusted to her by her brother. The money, which was meant to purchase a tricycle, was instead spent on her bridal shower and hotel accommodations for friends during her March wedding.

In a video posted on X (formerly Twitter), the Command's spokesperson, SP Bright Edafe, narrated how the suspect initially told her husband on July 20 that she was heading out, only for her family to later receive news that she had been kidnapped. A ransom demand of ₦3 million soon followed.

“Her husband pursued the case with the Special Anti-Kidnapping and Cybercrime Squad,” Edafe said. “We continued investigations and eventually arrested one of her accomplices, who revealed the entire plot.”

During interrogation, Alice confessed that she personally withdrew the ransom money from a POS operator, taking ₦2.5 million for herself and handing ₦500,000 to her co-conspirators.

She identified one of her accomplices as Peter, a security guard at a place she had previously worked.

Alice expressed regret for her actions, blaming the pressure to repay the money her brother gave her as motivation for the fake abduction.

Her brother, whose name was withheld, had been relentlessly demanding the return of the ₦3.6 million.

SP Edafe commended the investigative team for their thorough work in unravelling the truth behind the staged kidnapping.

The suspects are currently in custody and are expected to be charged following the conclusion of investigations.