The Ondo state police command says its officers have apprehended 28-year-old Mathew Ekele for allegedly orchestrating his own kidnap in an attempt to extort his family members.
In a statement on Tuesday, Ayanlade Olushola, the police spokesperson in Ondo, said Ekele was arrested “at a nearby bush along Ogbese Road, where he had positioned himself to collect the ransom after pretending to have been abducted”.
“His motorcycle was also recovered during the operation, providing additional evidence of his involvement,” Olushola added.
According to the spokesperson, a “combined team of operatives from Ogbese division, members of Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), hunters, and vigilantes, was on a routine bush-combing operation at Kashimola/Agunla forest when they intercepted a motorcycle conveying one John Peter ‘m’, 30 years, and James Peter ‘m’, with some cash, which was supposed to be a ransom for their abducted relative”.
“A thorough search of their belongings led to the recovery of N800,000, one packet roll of Benson cigarettes, and a bottle of Aromatic schnapps, raising immediate suspicion,” he said.
He added that questioning the two men guided operatives to another member of the supposed kidnapping gang who had arrived to collect the ransom.
“Through intelligence-led policing and concerted operational efforts, one individual who showed up to receive the ransom was immediately arrested,” he said.
“It was discovered that the entire incident was a staged kidnapping engineered by the supposed victim himself.”