The Ondo State Police Command has arrested a 42-year-old woman, Mrs. Sanmori Taiwo, and her 62-year-old husband, Pastor Sanmori Olubumi Joshua, for allegedly staging her own kidnapping in a bid to extort N10 million from her relatives abroad.
Police spokesperson, DSP Olushola Ayanlade, confirmed the arrest in a statement on Wednesday in Akure, noting that the incident occurred on August 23 at the couple’s residence on Road 5, PowerLine, Ondo City.
According to the statement, Taiwo secluded herself in a separate room while her husband called relatives, claiming she had been abducted by unknown gunmen demanding ransom. Suspicious of the claim, one of the relatives, Mr. Fasegha O. Joseph, petitioned the Commissioner of Police, CP Adebowale Lawal, who immediately deployed the Special Anti-Kidnapping Squad (SAKS).
Investigators later discovered Taiwo hiding in her home, after which she falsely claimed to have been released following a ransom payment. Upon interrogation, she confessed that the abduction was staged to extort money from her relatives abroad in order to settle debts and meet personal needs.
Ayanlade said the couple is in custody and will face prosecution, stressing that the case underscores the Command’s commitment under CP Adebowale Lawal to expose and curb all forms of criminality, whether real or staged.
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