The Edo State Police Command has uncovered a staged kidnap in Ekpoma that forced a man to sell his belongings to raise ransom for a brother who was never abducted.
Police spokesperson SP Eno Ikoedem, in a statement on Friday, said the drama began on January 10 when the command received a report that Idris Isiaka, a vulcanizer based at Balogun Street in Emaudo, had been kidnapped.
According to Ikoedem, Isiaka conspired with two others to fake his disappearance and push the story through a blogger, claiming his captors demanded twelve million naira.
The statement revealed that the suspects reached out to Isiaka’s family in Kogi State, threatening to kill him unless the payment was made.
Moved by the call for help, his brother reportedly sold property to raise part of the ransom which was later shared by Isiaka and his accomplices identified as Mohammed Saliu and Godwin Mohammed who are on the run.
Isiaka has since been arrested and confessed to planning the fake kidnap.
He is expected to be arraigned after investigation, the command added.