Operatives of the Edo State Police Command on Monday arrested one Obehi Odine, an 18-year-old girl, for alleged self-kidnap and ₦10,000,000 ransom demand in Ekpoma.

In a statement on Tuesday, spokesperson for the command, Eno Ikoedem, said the arrest was made after operatives were deployed to the location of the call which was tracked.

Mr Ikoedem said, “Following a report of a suspected kidnapping along Old INEC Road, Ekpoma, received at about noon on 12th January, 2026, the new DPO immediately swung into action and deployed operational resources to track the caller. Technical intelligence and field investigations led to the arrest of the suspect, which later revealed a case of self-kidnapping.

“The suspect, one Obehi Odine ‘F,’ aged 18, was arrested for staging her own kidnapping and demanding a ransom of ten million naira (₦10,000,000). She has confessed to the crime, admitting that the incident was deliberately fabricated to extort money.”

According to the command, the Commissioner of Police, Monday Agbonika, as part of ongoing security assessment and strategic repositioning in Ekpoma, has ordered the reorganisation of the Ekpoma Division, and approved the posting of Tomofe Nwabueze to assume office as the new DPO with immediate effect.

The command, in another operation, alongside the Nigerian military and the Edo State Security Corps, arrested 11 suspected kidnappers during a bush-combing operation around Akwocha Camp and adjoining forest corridors.

Mr Ikoedem said, “In a related operation in Ubiaja, the command recorded another major operational success as bush combing strategy yielded success. The Divisional Police Officer, Ubiaja personally led a coordinated bush-combing operation around Akwocha Camp and adjoining forest corridors, in collaboration with the Nigerian Military and the Edo State Security Corps (ESSC). 

“A concealed forest enclave identified by the drone squadron through intelligence generated from air surveillance as a suspected kidnapping and logistics base, was stormed. This resulted in the arrest of eleven (11) male suspects believed to be members of an organized kidnapping syndicate.”

He said the operation led to the recovery of 24 Dane guns, 17 cutlasses, three battle axes, gun powder, torchlights, mobile phones, solar panels, assorted charms, one Daylong motorcycle, and the sum of ₦209,700.00 cash, among other exhibits.

Advising members of the public against false kidnapping and other deceptive acts, the police commissioner warned that such actions waste critical security resources, divert attention from genuine emergencies, create unnecessary panic, and undermine public confidence, adding that anyone caught would be prosecuted accordingly.