A 23-year-old secondary school leaver, Okachi Edward who was arrested by the police for allegedly faking his own kidnap has explained the reasons behind his actions.
In a interview with The PUNCH, Okachi said he faked his own kidnap in order to raise money for a networking job which was offered to him.
According to him, he was required to pay the sum of N550,000 registration fee before they could employ him.
“I am here because I faked my kidnap with friends. I needed money for a job I was introduced to. I was told I needed to register with N550,000. They said I would have to pay the money before they could employ me.
“It is a networking job, involving bringing other people in. I was asked to pay the money for registration and form; But because I couldn’t raise the money, I planned with my friends to fake my kidnap so as to generate the money.”
He also revealed that the idea to stage his own kidnap was initiated by him because he wanted to raise money for the business and that he knew that his family would never give him such money.
“I believe they would never give me such money to register for a job. So, I felt the surest way to get the money from them was to fake my kidnap. I felt that if they realised I was in danger, they would want to do all within their means to raise the money and rescue me from danger.”
It was also gathered that he and his accomplice had requested for a reason fee of N15m which was later reduced to N8m naira.
“At first, I demanded the sum of N15m but my sister said the family couldn’t afford that huge amount of money. So, she pleaded that we reduce it and it was later reduced to N8m.”
He also explained that they were later caught when a girl who knew about his plans went to report him and his friends to his family.
“We were exposed on the very first day we started executing our plans. When my sister was contacted and told that I had been kidnapped, she didn’t believe us. So, we had to make a video to make it look like I was truly kidnapped and was being tortured.
“My sister then sent the video to my elder brother in Nigeria. But there was a girl who knew about my plans; so, she went to tell my parents about it. When my family showed the girl the video, she informed them she could identify everyone in the video from their clothes even though my friends’ faces were covered.
“The case was reported to the police; so, they traced us to `my friend’s house where I was hiding. The plan was for me to hide there for two weeks, but the police came and arrested me. My friends were arrested at their workplace.” he added.
