Bride Fakes Own Kidnap After Spending Brother’s N3.6M ON Bridal Shower

The Delta State Police Command has arrested a 27-year-old woman, Merit Alice, who admitted to staging her own kidnapping in a desperate bid to repay N3.6 million entrusted to her by her brother.

Alice confessed that the money, which was meant for the purchase of a tricycle, was instead spent on her bridal shower and hotel accommodations for friends during her wedding in March.

In a statement on Monday, Alice explained that she conspired with two accomplices to fake the abduction when her brother began pressuring her to return the money.

Narrating the incident in a video shared on X, the command’s spokesperson, SP Bright Edafe, said, “On July 20, Alice told her husband that she was coming, only to hear that he has been kidnapped.

“A ransom of N3 million was paid after several calls. The husband followed up on the case at the Special Anti-Kidnapping and Cybercrime Squad, and we continued to work until we arrested one of the suspects who eventually let the cat out of the bag.”

Alice revealed that one of her collaborators, Peter, worked as a security officer at her former place of employment.

“My husband and my brothers raised the N3 million ransom that we demanded. After which I went to a POS woman’s shop to cash out the money. I took N2.5 million and gave my accomplices N500,000,” she said.

She expressed deep regret over her actions and blamed the situation on the intense pressure she faced to refund the money to her brother.

SP Edafe commended the officers involved in the case for their thorough investigation, which led to the unraveling of the fake abduction plot.