Operatives of the Edo State Police Command have arrested an 18-year-old girl, identified as Obehi Odine, for allegedly faking her own abduction in Ekpoma, Esan West Local Government Area.
The Command’s spokesperson, ASP Eno Ikoedem, confirmed the development in a statement issued on Tuesday in Benin.
According to Ikoedem, Odine reportedly demanded a ransom of N10 million from her family before security operatives traced and apprehended her on January 12.
“Following a report of a suspected kidnapping along Old INEC Road, Ekpoma, received around midday on January 12, the newly posted DPO promptly deployed officers and resources to track the caller,” the statement read.
She explained that a combination of technical surveillance and field operations led to the discovery that the purported victim staged the incident to extort her family.
Ikoedem added that the suspect confessed to fabricating the abduction when interrogated by detectives.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, Monday Agbonika, cautioned residents against raising false alarms or orchestrating bogus kidnap cases, stressing that such acts waste security manpower, distract from real threats, and heighten public fear.
He warned that anyone involved in staged abductions or misleading security agencies would face prosecution.
Agbonika reaffirmed the Command’s commitment to leveraging technology, expanding forest patrols and intensifying intelligence-led policing to tackle criminal networks statewide.
He also urged residents to continue supplying credible information to aid the fight against crime.