Woman stages own kidnap for N20,000

A woman, Torkwase Queen Ayakpa, 37, set up her own kidnap in order to extort N20,000 from her sister, police said on Wednesday in Abuja.

Ayakpa was one of 24 suspects paraded by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command for various offences.

She reportedly confessed that she conspired with one Fidelis Ikule, 36, to stage the kidnap.

Ayakpa, a hairstylist, said she did it because her business was no longer doing well due to the coronavirus pandemic, adding that she also wanted to test if her sister really loved her.

Ayakpa said her sister had turned down  her request for money.

Ayakpa and her accomplice were arrested after the police tracked the calls they were making for the ransom to Ikule’s house in Mashafa Village, Mpape, Abuja, where they were holing up.

Ayakpa, from Benue State, said she left home on July 20, 2020 and called her sister telling her she had been kidnapped and her abductors demanded N20,000 to free her.

Commissioner of Police Bala Ciroma said other suspects were arrested for armed robbery, cultism, car theft and fraud.