The Ondo State Police Command has arrested a 29-year-old man, Bello Azeez, for allegedly faking his own kidnapping to extort N500,000 from his family and friends.
Police spokesperson, DSP Olushola Ayanlade, said in a statement on Saturday that Azeez, who hails from Ipele in Owo Local Government Area, devised the scheme after his father refused to lend him the sum of N500,000 to settle a debt.
“When his request was turned down, he staged his abduction. On August 11, he claimed he was travelling to Ibadan, then started making distress calls to his parents and friends, alleging he had been kidnapped,” Ayanlade explained.
The suspect reportedly asked that the N500,000 ransom contributions, raised by relatives and through a GoFundMe account, be paid directly into his personal bank account. His family initially complied, but soon became suspicious of the unusual request.
Suspicion grew when relatives questioned why a genuine kidnapping victim would demand ransom into his own account, prompting them to alert the police. Investigators tracked his phone and discovered he had remained in Owo throughout the period of the alleged abduction.
Azeez was subsequently arrested and confessed to the crime. He will be charged in court once investigations are concluded.
DSP Ayanlade described the case as a lesson on how “greed and deceit can ruin lives,” urging parents to guide their children against crime, peer pressure and moral decay.
He also appealed to the public to resist all forms of deception and continue supporting the police to promote peace and security.
