Ruth Livinus, a former secondary school student, admitted yesterday to orchestrating her own kidnapping in a bid to extort money from her widowed mother to start a hairdressing salon.
The 27-year-old, accompanied by her live-in partner, Isaac Gabriel, was apprehended after her alleged scheme came to light.
The Zone 2 Police Command, Onikan, Lagos, disclosed that they received a report from Jona Jumai, stating that Ruth Livinus, employed as a domestic worker in the Ajah area of Lagos, had gone missing in May 2024.
A few days later, the family received a ransom demand of five million naira from an unknown caller, claiming that Ruth had been kidnapped. A photo purportedly showing Ruth bound and gagged in a forest was sent to her mother to pressure her into complying with the kidnappers' demands. Despite her mother's efforts to pay N60,000, authorities traced the culprits to their hideout in Ikorodu, Lagos.
Ruth, hailing from Kaduna state, expressed remorse for her actions, admitting her intention to use the money for a hairdressing venture. She revealed that her boyfriend, Gabriel, proposed the idea to her, leading to their arrest after they managed to collect N60,000 as ransom.
Gabriel, from Benue State, corroborated Ruth's account, claiming she initiated the plan and he merely supported it. He explained that Ruth initially suggested feigning illness to her brother for financial assistance but later proposed the kidnapping ruse to her mother to secure a larger sum.
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