Man Fakes Own Kidnap, Demands ₦25m Ransom to Settle Family Debt

A man identified as Michael James has confessed to staging his own kidnapping in a desperate attempt to extort ₦25 million from his family after admitting he had spent money belonging to his siblings and had no means of paying them back.

According to the suspect, whom the Delta State Police Command arrested, he orchestrated the fake abduction after using funds belonging to his brother and sister.

“I kidnapped myself because I owe my siblings money, and I don’t have the means to pay them back,” he said while recounting the incident.

James, an indigene of Edo State residing in Delta State, explained that on the first day of the month, he left home under the pretext of disposing of refuse before sneaking into a nearby bush.

After deliberately ignoring repeated calls from his family, he eventually contacted his mother and falsely claimed he had been kidnapped. He told her the supposed abductors were demanding a ₦25 million ransom for his release.

To make the story believable, James said he repeatedly told his family that he had been beaten by the kidnappers and warned them against involving the police or local vigilante groups, insisting they should only focus on raising the ransom.

He added that after keeping up the deception for some time, he later informed his family that he had managed to escape from his captors.

However, investigations by the Delta State Police uncovered the falsehood, leading to his arrest.