The Police in Benue State have uncovered a staged kidnapping plot and arrested two young women accused of faking an abduction to extort ransom from a family.

The suspects, identified as Mary Torkuma of Akpehe community in Makurdi, and Evergreen Samuel from Abia State, were arrested following an intelligence-led operation by operatives of the Command’s Violence Crime Response Unit (VCRU).

A statement by a spokesman for the Benue police command, DSP Orchia Aondongu, noted that the case was reported on July 15, 2026, after Mary reportedly left her residence on July 12 to visit a friend in the North Bank area of Makurdi.

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The statement added that by the following day, her mother, who lives in Lagos State, allegedly received a telephone call from an unknown number claiming that her daughter had been kidnapped and demanding ransom.

It also stated that the report prompted the VCRU to launch an intelligence-driven investigation, which led operatives to a hotel in the Ankpa Quarters area of Makurdi, where Mary was found with her alleged accomplice, Evergreen Samuel, who had travelled from Abia State.

The police spokesperson said that preliminary investigations revealed that the duo allegedly conspired to stage the kidnapping in a bid to fraudulently obtain money from Mary’s mother by falsely claiming she had been abducted.

He disclosed that the suspects are currently in police custody, while investigations continue, stressing that they would be charged to court upon the conclusion of the investigation.

Meanwhile, the State Commissioner of Police, CP Cletus Nwadiogbu, warned residents against engaging in criminal acts, including staging fake kidnapping incidents, noting that such offences divert security personnel and resources from responding to genuine emergencies.

Nwadiogbu reaffirmed the Command’s commitment to intelligence-led policing and urged members of the public to promptly report suspicious activities to the nearest police formation or through the Command’s emergency lines. (Daily Trust)