By BARBARA KALU, Asaba –
Delta State Police Command has arrested a 29-year-old housewife, Merit Eleh, and her two accomplices, Alfred Elisha and Ugochukwu Adim, for staging a fake kidnapping in Asaba.
According to the police, the housewife conspired with her accomplices to fake her own kidnapping and demanded a ransom of N3 million from her family.
The police received a report of the kidnapping incident on July 21, 2025, at about 8:30 p.m., and Acting Commissioner of Police, CP Olufemi Abaniwonda, directed the Commander of the Special Anti-Kidnapping and Cyber Crime Squad, CSP Godwin Osadolor, to ensure the victim’s safe rescue.
“Acting promptly on the report, the Commissioner of Police, Olufemi Abaniwonda, directed the Commander, Special Anti-Kidnapping and Cyber Crime Squad, Godwin Osadolor, to ensure that the victim is rescued unhurt,” said the police spokesperson, SP Bright Edafe.
Through diligent investigative efforts and strategic deployment, the operatives apprehended Alfred Elisha at Koka Roundabout, Asaba, and Ugochukwu Adim off DLA Road, Asaba, on July 22, 2025.
Upon arrest, one of the suspects confessed that it was not a case of actual kidnapping but a plot between the victim and himself.
The housewife, Merit Eleh, confessed that she faked her kidnapping and received a ransom of N3 million, giving her accomplices N500,000 and keeping N2.5 million for herself.
“She further stated that she faked her kidnap and received a ransom of N3,000,000 and gave her accomplices N500,000, and took N2,500,000 for herself,” Edafe said.
According to Eleh, she used a loan of N3.6 million from her brother to fund her bridal shower and hotel expenses during her wedding in March 2025, prompting her to devise the fake kidnapping plan to repay the loan.
“She confessed that the money loaned to her by her brother of about N3.6m she used it to sponsor her bridal shower and hotel expenses during her wedding, which took place in March 2025,” the police stated.
The police command has commended the officers for their swift action and urged parents and guardians to prioritize the moral upbringing of their children to prevent such incidents.
All suspects involved have been arrested, and the investigation is ongoing.
