PRESS RELEASE
EDO POLICE ARREST OLUCHI AND SYNDICATE FOR STAGED KIDNAPPING, RECOVERS FIREARM USED IN RANSOM VIDEOS
The Edo State Police Command has uncovered a carefully orchestrated kidnapping scam and arrested four suspects who conspired to fraudulently obtain Fifty Million Naira (₦50,000,000) as ransom from unsuspecting family members through a fabricated abduction plot.
On 1st June, 2026, one Mr. Tony Ugbowan of Agbor Road, Benin City, reported at the Command that his wife, Mrs. Oluchi Ugbowan, aged 45 years, had been kidnapped on her way to her shop at Ramat Park along Agbor Road. He explained that on 28th May, 2026, he received a call from a concealed telephone number demanding a ransom of Fifty Million Naira (₦50,000,000) for her release.
Upon receipt of the report, operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit immediately commenced a discreet investigation, deploying both intelligence and technical resources to unravel the circumstances surrounding the alleged kidnap. Thorough investigation led to the arrest of one Israel Ability, male, aged 28 years, at Ramat Park, Agbor Road, Benin City. During his arrest, the mobile phone belonging to the purported victim was recovered from him. Upon interrogation, the suspect confessed that he had been contracted by Mrs. Oluchi Ugbowan to negotiate ransom with her family while falsely presenting her as a kidnapped victim.
Further investigation subsequently led operatives on 5th June, 2026, to a hotel in Ukwuani Local Government Area of Delta State, where Mrs. Oluchi Ugbowan was arrested. During interrogation, she confessed to staging her own kidnapping and thereafter led investigators to the residence of an accomplice in Delta State, one Ochukwudem Uwadia, male, aged 38 years.
Investigation revealed that the residence was used as the location where videos depicting the victim with tied hands and feet were recorded and circulated to family members as proof of captivity. The suspect further disclosed that Uwadia's son, Chibuzor Ochukwudem, male, aged 18 years, was the individual seen in the videos pointing a firearm at her head in order to further lend credibility to the false kidnapping narrative.
All suspects connected to the criminal conspiracy have been arrested. A search conducted at the premises led to the recovery of an automatic pump-action gun used in the ransom videos.
The Commissioner of Police, Edo State Command, CP Monday Agbonika, fdc, commended the operatives for their painstaking investigation and professionalism in the timely unraveling of the elaborate deception. He warned that the Command treats every reported kidnapping incident with the utmost seriousness and deploys all available resources to ensure victims are rescued and perpetrators brought to justice. He further cautioned members of the public against engaging in false kidnapping schemes, stressing that such acts not only constitute serious criminal offences but also divert critical security resources from genuine victims of crime.
Members of the public are therefore advised to promptly report suspicious incidents to law enforcement authorities and refrain from taking actions capable of causing fear of crime.
ASP ENO IKOEDEM,
POLICE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER,
EDO STATE COMMAND.
9th June, 2026.
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