The Ogun State Amotekun Corps has arrested a 41-year-old man, Enitan Awoyemi, for allegedly faking his abduction in an attempt to avoid the payment of a N1 million gambling debt.

The state’s commander of Amotekun, Alade Adedigba, said in a statement that Mr Awoyemi was arrested on Wednesday, three days after he faked his abduction.

Mr Adedigba said Mr Awoyemi, a resident of Irolu Remo in the Ikenne Local Government Area of Ogun State, on Sunday, contacted his wife, Tope Awoyemi, claiming unknown assailants abducted him and demanded a N5 million ransom to secure his release.

He said Mrs Awoyemi immediately alerted the Amotekun post in Irolu, after which officers conducted an investigation and discovered Mr Awoyemi made a false claim.

Mr Adedigba said this resulted from Mr Awoyemi’s inability to repay N1 million debt from gambling losses in a lotto game.

“Upon receiving the report, the Amotekun Intelligence team commenced an investigation into the matter, and findings from the investigation revealed that Enitan Awoyemi had accumulated substantial debts related to gambling in a lotto game, amounting to a staggering N1 million,” Mr Adedigba said.

He said the investigation showed Mr Awoyemi, an avid player of the game, previously won N6 million and had purchased a Toyota Camry car and a Bajaj boxer motorcycle from his winning for commercial purposes.

The commander said, “Awoyemi was ultimately arrested at the Irolu Okada Park in the early hours of Wednesday during routine patrol operations by the Amotekun officers.”

He said that upon Mr Awoyemi’s apprehension, Amotekun officers noted a strong smell of insecticide from him, raising concerns about an attempted suicide.

Mr Adedigba said the suspect had been admitted at Rufina Private Hospital, Iperu, Ogun State, and would be handed over to the police upon discharge.

“Amotekun was committed to taking necessary action, and once Awoyemi is discharged from the hospital, he would be handed over to the police for further proceedings,” Mr Adedigba added.