Akwa Ibom Police have rescued four kidnapping victims, including a woman who pretended to be abducted.
According to reports, 52 other suspects have been arrested for various crimes.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. Waheed Ayilara, disclosed to journalists in Uyo that the crimes included murder, kidnapping, armed robbery, child trafficking, cultism, and fraud.
The police say one of the supposed kidnapping victims, a woman from Nung Oku village in Ibesikpo Asutan Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom, orchestrated her own kidnapping and demanded a ransom of N4 million, but was apprehended by the police.
“A report was received on Monday from one Enobong Sampson that her sister had been kidnapped and that the kidnappers were demanding N4 million as ransom.
“As a result, operatives of Anti-kidnapping Squad of the Command embarked on an intense and intelligence-driven operation to track down the kidnappers and rescue the victim.
“On Tuesday, however, the purported victim and her boyfriend were arrested at a hideout at Mbierebe Obio, Ibesikpo Asutan Local Government Area.
“She confessed to having conspired with her boyfriend and three others to proclaim her kidnapping to raise money from her aunty based outside the country,” Ayilara said.
