Police arrest two students ‘who faked their kidnap, demanded $100k from parents’

The Lagos police command says it has arrested two students for allegedly faking their kidnap.

Benjamin Hundeyin, the command’s spokesperson, on Thursday, said the suspects also demanded $100,000 in bitcoin from their parents.

He identified the suspects as Ayodele Balogun, a 21-year-old student of Lagos State University (LASU); and Dennis Okuomo, also 21 years old, and a student of National Institute of Information Technology (NIIT) Lagos.

“It was Dennis’s idea because Ayodele is from a poor family and his best friend; he wanted to use it to raise money for him so that he will be able to take care of his family,” Hundeyin said.

“Ayodele disappeared from home, while Dennis used Ayodele’s phone to inform his father, Mr. Balogun, of his son’s fake kidnap and demanded $20,000 (about N30 million) ransom.

“The suspects directed Ayodele’s father to pay the ransom through Bitcoin, which wallet they had sent him while Ayodele was hiding in Dennis’s room in his (Dennis’s) father’s hotel.

“Ayodele’s father, a driver with a private company, received the message with many worries, wondering where to raise $20,000.

“As Balogun could not raise the money, Dennis decided to also fake his own kidnap and demanded 100,000 dollars (about N150 million) from his own father.

“Both suspects decided to leave the hotel to hide in a bush and remained there for five days while the negotiation and investigation were ongoing.

“On March 16, as no money was paid and the suspects were not comfortable with the condition of the bush, they decided to return to Dennis’ room in his father’s hotel.

“They told everybody that they just escaped from the kidnappers’ den, and quickly called Ayodele’s father to inform them about their purported escape from the kidnappers’ den.

“They took Ayodele to the hospital believing that he just came from the kidnappers’ den.”

Hundeyin said the suspects are in police custody. 

“Investigation so far revealed that the suspects faked their own kidnap. They are in our custody, two perpetrators of self-kidnap,” he said.