Man arrested for abducting girlfriend’s mum

Operatives of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Intelligence Response Team (IRT) have arrested a 24-year-old man for allegedly masterminding the kidnap of his girlfriend’s mother in Akwa Ibom.

Chinedu Innocent, according to the police, connived with three of his gang members to abduct the woman. Those arrested along with him were identified as Ekendu Chidiebere, Tochukwu Samuel and Ikechukwu Nwankwo.

The police said the suspect and his gang members only set the victim free after they collected N300,000 ransom from her family.

It was learnt that the suspects allegedly demanded for the sum of N6 million as ransom but later reduced it to N300,000.

Innocent and his gang members were arrested based on a petition to the IGP on the abduction of the 50-year-old woman.

It was learnt that the IGP directed the commander in charge of IRT, Deputy Commissioner of Police Abba Kyari, to go after those behind the abduction.

Police spokesman Moshood Jimoh, who confirmed the arrest, said the suspects are being detained at the Force Headquarters, Abuja.

Moshood revealed that the IRT operatives discovered that Innocent allegedly faked his own abduction along with the mother of his girlfriend.

He said the team discovered that Innocent was present at his girlfriend’s mother’s house in Abia State.

In his confessional statement to the police, Innocent reportedly said it was jealousy that forced him into crime.

He reportedly said: “The woman we kidnapped is my girlfriend’s mother and I got myself linked into their family through their phone charging business. They have a telecom mast in their compound and I used to go to their house to charge my phone. I then made friends with them and the woman’s second daughter became my girlfriend.

“But few months into our relationship I discovered that the woman’s daughter was seeing someone else. I confronted her about it and she threatened to end the relationship. It is my cousin who sold the idea to me. He told me that one of his friends, known as Onyemywa, made money from kidnapping.”