16-Year-Old Ebonyi Student Fakes Own Kidnap, Demands ₦2m Ransom

A 16-year-old senior secondary school student in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, has landed in police custody after allegedly faking her own kidnapping and demanding a ₦2 million ransom from her family.

The student, who is in SS2 at a private school located on Watchman Street in the state capital, was reported missing just as she was expected to return to school for the third term on Saturday. Instead, she concocted an elaborate story with the help of a family friend, according to police.

The spokesperson of the Ebonyi State Police Command, SP Joshua Ukandu, disclosed the incident to journalists on Monday, revealing that the student—originally from Izzi Local Government Area—had sent a distress message to a family member claiming she had been abducted.

According to Ukandu, the girl told investigators that while out shopping for second-hand clothes, popularly called Okirika, someone tapped her from behind and she allegedly lost consciousness. She claimed she later woke up at Ishieke Junction, a busy location in the Ebonyi Local Government Area.

Rather than return home, the teenager went to the residence of a family friend—who was unaware she had been declared missing—and used his phone to text her brother, falsely claiming she had been kidnapped and demanding ₦2 million for her release.

When her brother requested to speak to the supposed kidnappers and asked for their location, she refused and subsequently blocked his number. She later unblocked him and sent a bank account number linked to the family friend as the recipient for the ransom.

However, the plan unraveled when police tracked the phone used to send the messages. A swift raid on the house led to the arrest of the student and others present at the location.

Ukandu confirmed that the police have launched a full investigation into the incident. The teenager has since been reunited with her family, but due to her age, authorities say the matter is still being carefully handled under ongoing inquiry.

The police urged parents and guardians to pay close attention to the activities of their children, particularly in the digital age where hoaxes like this can have serious legal consequences.