Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Niger State Police Command has arrested two teenagers for allegedly staging a fake kidnapping in a failed attempt to extort ₦200,000 from the father of one of the suspects. The suspects, identified as 15-year-old Kelvin Faga and his 17-year-old accomplice, Mayowa Ojewuyi, popularly known as “Mayor,” were apprehended following an investigation that exposed the elaborate ruse.
The Police Public Relations Officer of the Niger State Command, SP Wasiu Abiodun, in a statement issued on Monday, August 3, 2026, disclosed that Kelvin left his home in Suleja, Suleja Local Government Area of Niger State, on Monday, July 20, 2026, claiming he was going to church but failed to return. His disappearance prompted his family to report him missing at the ‘B’ Division Police Station in Suleja. The following day, Tuesday, July 21, the family received a telephone call from an unidentified caller demanding a ransom of ₦200,000, with the caller claiming that the teenager had been kidnapped.
Acting on the report, police operatives immediately commenced investigations and, acting on credible intelligence, tracked Kelvin to a hotel in Suleja on Saturday, July 25, 2026, where he was found in the company of his alleged accomplice. During interrogation, both suspects confessed to orchestrating the fake abduction. According to the police spokesman, the teenagers admitted that they planned to collect the ransom from Kelvin's father and share the money between themselves.
The suspects are currently being held at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), where further investigations are ongoing. They are expected to be charged to court upon the conclusion of the investigation. The arrest of the two teenagers highlights the growing trend of self-kidnapping in Nigeria, where individuals stage their own abductions to extort money from their families. This incident comes just over a year after a similar case in Niger State, where an 18-year-old student of the College of Health in Kwamba, Suleja, was arrested for faking his own kidnapping and demanding a N50 million ransom from his mother. The police have warned the public against such practices, which not only waste law enforcement resources but also cause unnecessary emotional distress to families. The suspects, who are minors, are expected to face legal consequences for their actions, as the police continue to crack down on the rising cases of self-kidnapping in the state.
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