By Chuka Madu
Benue State Police Command
has arrested two women accused of faking a kidnapping in an alleged attempt to
collect ransom from a worried family, after an investigation uncovered what
police described as a carefully planned deception.
Police identified the suspects as Mary Torkuma, a resident of Akpehe in Makurdi, and Evergreen Samuel, who reportedly
travelled from Abia State. According to the command, the pair allegedly worked
together to convince Torkuma's mother that her daughter had been kidnapped so
they could demand money for her release.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Police Public
Relations Officer, DSP Orchia Peter
Aondongu, said the matter was reported to the Command's Violence Crime
Response Unit (VCRU) on July 15, 2026. Investigators were told that Mary had
left her home on July 12 to visit a friend in Makurdi's North Bank area.
The following day, her mother, who lives in Lagos State,
allegedly received a phone call from an unknown number claiming that her
daughter had been abducted. The caller reportedly demanded ransom, prompting
the family to alert the police.
Acting on the information, detectives launched an
intelligence-led operation that eventually traced the supposed victim to a
hotel in the Ankpa Quarters area of Makurdi. Officers found Mary there alongside
Evergreen Samuel, whom police believe was part of the alleged scheme.
Preliminary findings, according to the police, indicate that
the two women staged the kidnap story to obtain money from Mary's mother
through a false ransom demand. Both suspects remain in custody as investigators
continue gathering evidence before filing charges in court.
Reacting to the incident, Benue State Commissioner of Police
Cletus C.N. Nwadiogbu cautioned
members of the public against engaging in crimes such as fake kidnappings. He
said such actions waste valuable security resources that should be focused on
genuine emergencies, adding that anyone found guilty of such offences would
face the full weight of the law.
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