An Abuja-based security guard named Sunday has admitted to orchestrating a self-kidnapping scheme to raise N4 million from his family, claiming he needed the money to travel to his village for Christmas.

In a video shared on Facebook by the Federal Capital Territory Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh, Sunday explained that he borrowed a friend’s phone to contact his family, falsely informing them that he had been kidnapped and that his abductors were demanding a ransom of N4 million.

Adeh highlighted that Sunday executed this plan without notifying the friend whose phone he used. When Sunday’s family reached out to the friend, pleading for a reduction in the ransom and expressing concerns for Sunday’s safety, the friend was taken aback and reported the incident to the police, leading to Sunday’s arrest.

During the interrogation, Sunday confessed to using his friend’s phone to fabricate the kidnapping story to extort money for his holiday plans. He admitted, “I used my friend’s phone to call my people and tell them that my friend had kidnapped me. I did that because I needed money to go to the village. I demanded N4 million. I do not feel okay about what I did.”

This incident is not isolated; similar cases of self-kidnapping for financial gain have surfaced in the past. A recent report mentioned a 26-year-old woman, referred to as Misturah, who was arrested for staging her own abduction and extorting N2.5 million from her husband.

Such acts exploit the prevailing security issues in the country, raising concerns over the lengths individuals might go to for financial assistance during the festive season.