Operatives of the Enugu State Police Command, attached to the Trans-Ekulu Division, have arrested a 26-year-old man, Chibuike Joshua Ugwuja, for allegedly staging his own k!dnap and demanding a ransom of thirty-five million naira (N35,000,000) from his family.
A statement from the command’s spokesperson, SP Daniel Ndukwe, said Chibuike’s father had on 24th November 2025 at about 4 p.m., reported to the Division that his son, who works as a private security guard in an estate in Trans-Ekulu, left for work on 22nd November 2025 and failed to return.
He further disclosed that the suspect sent a Facebook message to their female neighbour, claiming he had been abducted by unknown persons in a commercial bus and that his supposed abductors were demanding ransom.
‘’However, while investigations and efforts to locate and rescue the purported victim were ongoing, the suspect was brought to the Police Station by his father on 30th November 2025 at about 2 p.m. This followed days of intensified search operations by police operatives, who had been working to trace his whereabouts and rescue him.
Upon interrogation, the suspect confessed to staging the self-kidnapping. He revealed that after closing from work, he went to the residence of a friend at Amorji Nike, Enugu, rather than returning home, and from there masterminded the false kidnap. He demanded N35,000,000 from his family but eventually returned home on 29th November 2025 at about 9 a.m. after his ransom demands were not met, attributing his actions to frustration over his uncle’s alleged inability to procure a tricycle for him.” he said
The police imagemaker said that the suspect has been taken into custody and will be arraigned in court and prosecuted accordingly once investigations are concluded.
He said the police remain committed to ensuring that individuals who abuse public trust and cause unwarranted panic are made to face the full weight of the law.
