The Ekiti State Police Command has arrested a priest in the Methodist Church, Rev. Peter Adegoke Adewuyi, for allegedly faking his own kidnap to collect ransom from church members and other individuals.
The police also arrested one Sunday Oluwadare Adewole who was helping the priest in making calls to unsuspecting members of the public to demand ransom on the phantom kidnap.
A source at the command told THISDAY yesterday that the two suspects will be charged to court as soon as the Police conclude their investigations.
The 31-year-old priest was said to have lodged in a hotel in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, and hid from public view from where he and his accomplice were making calls to the members of the public to pay ransom for his release.
He claimed that his ‘captors’ demanded N3 million ‘ransom’ before he could regain his freedom.
The development reportedly threw his church into confusion with members raising cash to pay the ransom for what turned out to be fake kidnap saga.
The phoney kidnap stunt was busted by the Police who intercepted and arrested the holder of the phone with GSM Number: 09078589516 with which the N3 million ransom was being demanded from family members and
church members.
Unknown to the priest, he was being tracked to a location near First Bank in Okeyinmi area of Ado Ekiti where he went to pick the ransom.
While being interrogated by the Police, Adewuyi confessed to have masterminded his own ‘kidnap’ and demanding for a N3 million ransom.
The priest also confessed that he lodged at a hotel during the period of his self-enforced disappearance from the public.
The two suspects are presently being detained at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) of the State Police Headquarters.
