A female student of Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), Ms. Chinecherem Nwaokoye, has been arrested by operatives of the Anambra State Police Command for allegedly staging her kidnap. Nwaokoye was arrested alongside her boyfriend, Chinecherm Aronu, with whom she staged the fake kidnapping.
She told the police operatives that she staged the kidnapping after watching a movie, and that she planned to extort money from her family for her boyfriend to start a business. A statement issued by the state Police Command’s spokesperson, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, which revealed this, added that they initially demanded N10 million ransom from the family but later reduced it to N3 million.
In the statement, it was said: “Operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) acting on an intelligence-led investigation of a disturbing report of the alleged abduction of Chinecherem Nwaokoye, a female student of Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), stormed a lodge located at UNIZIK Temp Site, Awka, where the victim was found alive and in the company of her male accomplice.
“According to the report, Chinecherem had earlier contacted her family on July 8, 2025, informing them that she was returning home from school but never arrived. Her phone remained switched off throughout that day, and on July 9, 2025, her family received a call from an unknown male voice who claimed responsibility for her kidnapping and demanded a ransom of N10million. After negotiations, the ransom was reduced to N3 million, and a partial payment of N1 million was later made into the victim’s bank account. The suspects are Chinecherem Nwaokoye, 28, and Chinecherem Aronu, 30.”
Ikenga said that when arrested, the victim claimed that she did it to raise money for her boyfriend. He said: “Upon interrogation, the duo confessed to staging the kidnap as a plot to extract money from the victim’s family. The female suspect, Nwaokoye, admitted she masterminded the plan after watching a movie and intended to give the money to her boyfriend to start a business.”
