FIC Report (Edo State) – The Edo State Police Command has successfully uncovered a carefully orchestrated kidnapping hoax and arrested four suspects involved in a criminal conspiracy aimed at fraudulently obtaining Fifty Million Naira (₦50,000,000) from unsuspecting family members through a fabricated abduction scheme.
According to a statement issued by the Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Eno Ikoedem, on 1st June 2026, Mr. Tony Ugbowan of Agbor Road, Benin City, reported to the Command that his wife, Mrs. Oluchi Ugbowan, aged 45, had allegedly been kidnapped while on her way to her shop at Ramat Park along Agbor Road. He further stated that on 28th May 2026, he received a call from an unknown number demanding a ransom of Fifty Million Naira (₦50,000,000) for her release.
Following the report, operatives of the Command’s Anti-Kidnapping Unit immediately launched a discreet and intelligence-driven investigation. Through the deployment of technical and operational resources, investigators swiftly uncovered inconsistencies surrounding the alleged abduction.
The investigation led to the arrest of one Israel Ability, 28, at Ramat Park, Agbor Road, Benin City. During the operation, detectives recovered the mobile phone belonging to the purported victim from the suspect. Upon interrogation, he confessed that he had been engaged by Mrs. Oluchi Ugbowan to negotiate ransom payments with her family while falsely portraying her as a kidnap victim.
Further investigations subsequently led operatives, on 5th June 2026, to a hotel in Ukwuani Local Government Area of Delta State, where Mrs. Oluchi Ugbowan was apprehended. During interrogation, she confessed to masterminding and staging her own kidnapping. She thereafter led investigators to the residence of an accomplice, one Ochukwudem Uwadia, 38, also in Delta State.
Findings revealed that the residence served as the location where videos showing the victim with her hands and legs bound were recorded and circulated to family members as purported evidence of her captivity. Investigators further established that Uwadia’s son, Chibuzor Ochukwudem, 18, was the individual seen in the videos pointing a firearm at the victim’s head in an attempt to lend credibility to the false kidnapping narrative.
All suspects connected to the criminal conspiracy have been arrested and are currently assisting the Police with ongoing investigations. A search conducted at the premises led to the recovery of an automatic pump-action firearm used in producing the ransom videos.
The Commissioner of Police, Edo State Command, CP Monday Agbonika, fdc, commended the operatives for their professionalism, diligence, and painstaking investigation, which led to the timely exposure of the elaborate criminal deception.
The Commissioner reiterated that the Command treats every reported case of kidnapping with utmost seriousness and deploys all available resources to ensure the rescue of victims and the apprehension of perpetrators. He warned that staging kidnappings or participating in similar criminal schemes constitutes a serious offence under the law and diverts critical security resources from genuine victims of crime.
Members of the public are therefore advised to promptly report suspicious activities to law enforcement agencies and refrain from engaging in actions capable of causing unnecessary public alarm or fear.
Signed:
Daniel Ejodamen
FIC, Benin City.
9th June, 2026
