Police
Iyunade Grace
The Edo State Police Command has uncovered an elaborate self-kidnap scheme involving 45-year-old Mrs. Oluchi Ugbowan, who faked her own abduction and demanded N50 million ransom from her family before being found in a hotel in Delta State with her lover. The case unraveled in early June 2026 after what initially looked like a genuine kidnapping in Benin City turned out to be a staged plot involving the woman and three accomplices. Police said the deception was driven by debt, and it has left her family publicly humiliated and emotionally devastated.
The incident began when Oluchi’s husband, Tony Ugbowan of Agbor Road, Benin City, reported to police on June 1, 2026 that his wife was missing. He told officers she was kidnapped on May 28 while on her way to her shop at Ramat Park along Agbor Road, and that he later received a call from a concealed number demanding N50 million for her release. The family initially told police the abduction occurred at Ikpoba Hill in Ikpoba-Okha LGA. Believing the threat was real, Oluchi’s children mobilized support. Her daughter Anita, who lives in Canada, posted emotional appeals online and pleaded with the public to help raise money. The “kidnappers” later reduced the demand to N20 million.
Edo Police launched an intelligence-driven investigation through its Anti-Kidnapping Unit. Operatives arrested 28-year-old Israel Ability at Ramat Park and recovered a mobile phone belonging to Oluchi. Under interrogation, Ability confessed he had been contracted by Mrs. Ugbowan herself to negotiate ransom with her family while presenting her as a kidnapped victim. That lead allowed police to trace a second phone number to a hotel in Ubiaroko, Ukwuani LGA, Delta State. On June 5, 2026, officers found Oluchi inside the hotel room with a man identified as her lover.
Police first called her husband with good news that his wife had been “rescued,” and he was elated. The reality emerged only when he arrived at the station. Sources said officers then broke the news that there was no abduction: Oluchi had staged the entire thing. She reportedly begged her husband not to tell their children what actually transpired. The husband, who has unspecified health issues, was left reeling from the betrayal.
The family’s shock was compounded by the public nature of their fundraising. Anita said in an online video that the ordeal “shattered my family” and ruined her reputation. “I only did what any daughter would do. My family has been shattered… I never knew. I only wanted my mother back home,” she said. She confirmed no ransom was paid and that money raised would be refunded to donors. The Harmony Ladies Club, a social group Anita belongs to, issued a statement dissociating itself from the saga, saying members acted in good faith to support a perceived crisis and felt betrayed.
Edo Police Public Relations Officer Eno Ikoedem confirmed four suspects were arrested in connection with the case. Alongside Oluchi and Israel Ability, two other accomplices were implicated in the conspiracy to defraud the family. Police said Oluchi admitted during questioning that she faked the kidnapping because she was heavily in debt. The Command transferred the case to the State Criminal Investigation Department for prosecution. All suspects made confessional statements.
The case has drawn comparisons to a separate 2025 incident in Edo where 27-year-old Chioma Success Ezebie staged her own kidnap with her three-year-old son and collected N5 million ransom from her husband. That plot was exposed when police arrested her cousin Osita Godfrey, leading to Chioma’s arrest and full recovery of the ransom. Police said both cases highlight a troubling pattern of self-kidnapping for financial gain, warning residents against acts that undermine public peace and waste security resources.
For Oluchi’s family, the fallout continues. Anita vowed the law would take its course and said they involved police from the beginning. The incident has reignited debate about fake abductions amid Nigeria’s wider kidnapping crisis, with authorities noting that such hoaxes divert critical resources from real cases. As of now, Oluchi remains in custody while investigations continue, and her family is left picking up the pieces of trust and reputation damaged by the N50 million ransom plot that collapsed in a Delta hotel room.
