Family Betrayal: How Abuja teenager faked her kidnap to scam father of ₦5 million

FEMI FABUNMI

Operatives of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command have arrested four individuals, including two sisters, for allegedly staging a fake kidnapping to extort ₦5 million from their father.

The incident came to light after Mr. Innocent, a resident of Jikwoyi Phase II in Abuja, reported to the police on July 30 that his 16-year-old daughter, Lead Way Innocent, had been missing since July 18.

According to him, she had left home that day to sit for an examination at Government Secondary School, Karu, but did not return.

Shortly after her disappearance, he began receiving ransom demands from unknown callers, which led the family into panic.

The spokesperson for the FCT Police Command, Josephine Adeh, said in a statement that operatives of the Jikwoyi Police Division immediately launched an investigation.

Through coordinated intelligence gathering and digital tracking, the phone number used to make the ransom calls was traced to a residence in Jikwoyi Phase II. Officers proceeded to the address and found the supposedly abducted girl, Lead Way Innocent, in the company of Mrs. Tina Mayowa, wife of one of the suspects, Mr. Mayowa Adedeji. Both were seen eating and conversing without any signs of distress.

Further investigation led to the arrest of Lead Way’s elder sister, Joy Innocent, and her boyfriend, Mayowa Adedeji. Police revealed that Lead Way was a willing participant in the scheme and had remained with the suspects throughout the period of the alleged abduction, while her sister Joy stayed at home and pretended to be unaware of the plot. The four suspects are currently in police custody and have confessed to the crime.

The FCT Commissioner of Police, Ajao Sunday Adewale, condemned the act, describing it as a disturbing case of manipulation and betrayal.

He also urged parents and guardians to pay closer attention to their children’s emotional well-being and behaviour.