The Lagos State Police have arrested Ayodele Balogun, a 21-year-old student at Lagos State University of Education, Ijanikin, and his friend Dennis Okunomo, also 21, a student at the National Institute of Information Technology (NIIT), for staging their own kidnapping in Lagos.
According to SP Benjamin Hundeyin, the command’s spokesperson, Okunomo initiated the scheme to raise money for Balogun, who hails from a financially struggling family.
On February 2, Balogun vanished from home and messaged his father claiming he had been kidnapped, demanding a $20,000 ransom to be paid in Bitcoin.
When Balogun’s father sought assistance from his workplace, they advised him to report to the police instead of providing the funds.
Balogun then sought refuge with Okunomo at his father’s hotel.
When the ransom wasn’t forthcoming, they staged a photo of Balogun lying naked on the ground in a bush, sending it to his father with threats. Okunomo later faked his own disappearance to further pressure his father into paying.
Presenting themselves as being abducted by the same perpetrator, they demanded an $80,000 ransom from both families. With no response, they increased the ransom to $100,000
. They eventually returned to Okunomo’s father’s hotel on March 16, claiming they had escaped.
Hundeyin revealed that after interrogation, it was clear the men orchestrated the abduction to extort money from their families. They will be charged once the investigation concludes.