A Nigerian policewoman, Naomi Danlami, has been arrested for allegedly faking her own kidnap in order to extort ransom from well-wishers.
The Abuja-based police sergeant is reported to have staged her own kidnap to raise money for her wedding.
News of her claimed kidnap was shared on Facebook on Wednesday, April 19, just one day after she announced her engagement on the platform, according to FIJ.
It was gathered that when her family called her phone number, her supposed abductors said they didn’t want money but just wanted to kill her.
“Some of her friends in various social media groups started posting about raising funds for her, saying it would make her abductors free her. During the fundraising exercise, there were dissenting voices who expressed doubts about the abduction story. Some of her colleagues said she had a history of criminal behavior; they said she was not truthful, not to be trusted, and that her lifestyle was wayward.
As efforts to secure her release intensified, Usman Baba-Alkali, the Inspector-General of Police, ordered the Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT) to fish out Danlami’s abductors. When the IRT got to work, they revealed her last known location to be somewhere in Nasarawa State.
Danlami would suddenly appear on Saturday, claiming she escaped from the kidnappers’ den where she was molested. She was reported to have insisted on returning to work as though nothing happened, to the surprise of those around her, consequently raising suspicion from the Force Headquarters.
“We all thought that if she was kidnapped and molested in addition, the first thing for her to do was go to a hospital for examination and possible treatment, not to show up at work straightaway”, a source said.
