Woman Found in Hotel After Alleged Staged Kidnap, N20m Ransom Bid

A married woman, Oluchi, has been found in a Delta State hotel after allegedly faking her own abduction and demanding N50 million from her family, police said.

Her children, including a daughter based in Canada, had earlier appealed for public donations after the supposed kidnappers reduced the ransom to N20 million.

The family initially told police Oluchi was abducted in the Ikpoba Hill area of Ikpoba-Okha LGA, Edo State.

But investigators traced her to a hotel in Ubiaroko, Delta, where she was found with a man described as her alleged lover, a source familiar with the case told newsmen. The source requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

“They met the man and the woman inside the hotel. The husband was contacted and invited to the station. It was there that the police informed him of what had happened. The woman pleaded with her husband not to disclose the true circumstances to their children,” the source said.

In a video obtained by newsmen, Oluchi’s daughter, Anita, said the family was shocked. 

“My mum has been released. She is involved in this kidnapping case. I only did what I did to save my mother. The family is in shock. This is not right. It has shattered my family,” Anita said.

She said her father has health challenges and that no ransom was paid. “We involved the police from the beginning. We now know it was not a real kidnapping. We were told my mother was involved and that she was in a relationship with the man. They had planned to collect the N20 million already raised,” she said.

Anita added that all funds raised remained intact. “My reputation has been ruined. I never knew what was really happening. I only wanted my mother back home. The law will take its course. I am sorry this is happening. I only did what any daughter would do,” she said.

The Harmony Ladies Club, a social group Anita belongs to, distanced itself from the incident in a statement circulated on WhatsApp. The group said members provided emotional, logistical, and financial support after learning of the alleged abduction.

“It is with a profound sense of betrayal that we have now discovered, through investigations, that the entire kidnapping incident was allegedly staged by Mrs. Oluchi herself,” the statement read.

Delta State Police spokesperson Eno Ikoedem confirmed the incident and said four people had been arrested. 

“I can confirm the incident and also let you know that four people have been arrested in connection with it,” she said.