Married couple fake own kidnap to obtain ransom from relatives

• Nigerian Police Force arrested four suspects for staging abductions to extort money from family members, including a couple in Lagos, Albarka Sukuya in Plateau, and Nnamdi Agu in Abuja.

According to information released by the Nigerian Police Force, four suspects were apprehended on suspicion of coordinating their abduction in various regions of the country.

CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, Force Public Relations Officer, stated that a team of agents from the Force’s Lagos, Abuja, and Plateau State Commands executed the arrest.

The spokesman mentioned in a statement published on Tuesday via his Twitter (X) account that the suspects, which included a couple based in Lagos, orchestrated the abduction with the intention of forcing money from their relatives.

According to Adejobi, David Yabrifa, 53, and Regina Yabrifa, 48, deceived family members into believing they were kidnapped in exchange for a N5 million ransom.

According to him, Albarka Sukuya, the other suspect, was apprehended in Plateau for allegedly orchestrating his abduction on multiple occasions, and Nnamdi Agu, the other suspect, orchestrated his abduction in Abuja with the intention of defrauding his family.

He said; “In Lagos, a couple was arrested for an alleged self-kidnapping scheme aimed at obtaining a N5 million ransom recently.

“The husband, Doubara David Yabrifa, a 53-year-old technician, and the wife, Regina Yabrifa, a 48-year-old body massager and bone setter, were apprehended after a family member reported the purported kidnapping.

“The couple confessed to planning the self-kidnap to raise N3m to purchase a property in Badagry, Lagos. The husband justified the act, citing financial difficulties and a lack of support from relatives. Both were arrested, and they were subsequently charged in court.

“Also, one Albarka Sukuya of Jenta Apata, Jos, has been notorious for staging his kidnapping on several occasions and has received ransoms from unsuspecting members of the community in Plateau State.

“Similarly, on January 20, 2024, a young man, Nnamdi Agu, faked his kidnapping in Abuja in an attempt to defraud one of his family members who resides around River Park Estate, Abuja, to make money to pay for his pleasures.

“The police, in a swift response, foiled the staged kidnapping and arrested the suspect. The suspect and many others leverage the prevailing instances of kidnapping and plan to engage in such criminal and deceptive acts of staged or self-kidnapping to make money.”