The Enugu State Police Command has arrested a 26-year-old man, Chibuike Joshua Ugwuja, for allegedly staging his own kidnapping and demanding a ransom of ₦35 million from his family.
According to a statement signed by the Police Public Relations Officer, Enugu State Command, SP Daniel Ndukwe, the suspect’s father had reported on 24 November 2025 that his son, a private security guard in Trans-Ekulu, left for work two days earlier and never returned. The family later received a Facebook message sent to their female neighbour, claiming the young man had been abducted by unknown persons in a commercial bus and that the kidnappers were demanding ₦35 million for his release.
Police operatives launched a search-and-rescue operation immediately. However, on 30 November 2025, the suspect was brought to the Trans-Ekulu Police Division by his father, following days of intensive police efforts to trace his whereabouts.
During interrogation, Ugwuja confessed that he was never kidnapped. He revealed that after closing from work, he went to a friend’s house in Amorji Nike, Enugu, where he fabricated the kidnap story. He admitted to demanding ₦35 million from his family and said he eventually returned home on 29 November after his ransom demands were not met. He attributed his actions to frustration over his uncle’s alleged failure to buy him a tricycle.
The police confirmed that Ugwuja is currently in custody and will be charged to court upon conclusion of investigations.
Describing the incident as “a regrettable height of criminality”, the Commissioner of Police, CP Mamman Bitrus Giwa, PSC, commended the suspect’s parents for promptly reporting the case and presenting their son to the authorities. He urged the public to always report suspected kidnapping incidents and to cooperate with the police rather than yielding to ransom demands.
The Command reiterated its commitment to tackling crime and ensuring that individuals who create panic through false information face the full weight of the law.
