The Ondo State Police Command has arrested a 42-year-old woman, Mrs Sanmori Taiwo, and her 62-year-old husband, Pastor Sanmori Joshua, for allegedly faking her abduction to extort N10m from relatives abroad.
According to a statement released by the state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Olushola Ayanlade, the drama played out on August 23 at the couple’s residence on Road 5, PowerLine, Ondo City.
According to him, Taiwo deliberately secluded herself in a room while her husband reached out to her relatives, claiming she had been kidnapped by unknown gunmen.
“Suspicious of the claims, one of the relatives, Mr Fasegha O. Joseph, through a written petition, reported the matter to the Commissioner of Police, CP Adebowale Lawal, who directed the Command’s Special Anti-Kidnapping Squad (SAKS),” Ayanlade said.
He explained that operatives, backed by Enu-owa Division in Ondo City, stormed the couple’s residence where the woman was found.
“She falsely claimed to have just been released by kidnappers after a ransom of Five Million Naira was allegedly paid,” the police spokesman added.
Ayanlade further disclosed that during interrogation, the woman owned up to staging the abduction to raise money.
