The police have arrested a female teacher, Chizoba for allegedly staging her own kidnap and collecting ransom in Abriba-Ohafia area of Abia State. The suspect, a mother of three, was arrested alongside two others, Anthony and Ezema, who were alleged accomplices in the fake kidnap saga.

They were alleged to have assisted her in staging the kidnap but were arrested by the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT). It was gathered that N500,000 was paid through Chizoba’s bank account as ransom, before the IRT operatives swooped on them.

One of Chizoba’s relatives, alerted IGP Adamu Mohammed, about her abduction and the subsequent demand of N2 million ransom. The informant reported to IGP Adamu that Chizoba’s kidnappers had threatened to kill her within hours if their demands were not met and the police boss swiftly deployed a crack team of IRT operatives to track and apprehend the suspects.

The operatives, who were armed with tracking devices, trailed Chizoba and her supposed kidnappers to an uncompleted building in Agborji, Abriba-Ohafia area of the state, with the intention of rescuing her and apprehending her kidnappers, but the operatives got the shock of their lives when they got to the hideout only to discover Chizoba having an amorous affair with one of her supposed kidnappers. The operatives also discovered that her abduction was staged to extort money from her relatives.

A police source said Chizoba confessed that she wanted to use the money to elope with her boyfriend to Europe. However, Chizoba in an interview denied staging her own kidnap, claiming that she was hypnotised by her boyfriend, Ezema.

Ezema, however, debunked Chizoba’s claims that she was hypnotised and kidnapped, saying: “We are lovers and we planned the fake kidnap together. We wanted to travel outside the country. She told me her relatives would pay. We met on Facebook and we love ourselves. I know that she is ashamed of what really happened. I feel for her, but she should not make me look like a criminal,” he said.