Delta man fakes kidnap, demands N50m ransom from parent

The Delta State Police Command has arrested suspected self-kidnapper, Nelson Eserada, and his accomplice, Jerry Lawrence.

The Command’s Spokesperson, SP Bright Edafe, disclosed this on Thursday while speaking to According Metro in Asaba.

He said the suspect and his accomplice reached out to Eserada’s parent and demanded N50 million ransom.

He said, “Following complaints received from the father of one Nelson Eserada at Abraka Division that his son Nelson Eserada was kidnapped and that the kidnappers were demanding a ransom of N50 million in bitcoin.

“The suspect also sent a video of the supposed victim tied and being tortured. The DPO Abraka SP Fabian Ayameh swiftly moved into action and embarked on a technical intelligence-led investigation. On June 10, 2024, one Jerry Lawrence of Jeddo Community Warri was arrested in connection with the crime.

“Preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect conspired with the said Nelson Eserada, a 400 Level Student of Banking & Finance Department of the Delta State University Abraka, and that the father had already paid the sum of N5.2 million ransom through a Bitcoin account belonging to the principal suspect Jerry Lawrence.”

Edafe said the suspects are in custody and the investigation was ongoing.

He also added that eight suspected armed robbers terrorizing the Asaba metropolis have been arrested by the command.

The police spokesperson said the arrest followed complaints of house-to-house armed robbery incidents received from residents in Bonsaac, Okwe, and other areas in the Asaba metropolis.

“The Commissioner of Police CP Abaniwonda Olufemi deployed a new DPO to ‘B’ division Asaba with a clear mandate to identify, and arrest those responsible.

“Consequently, on May 8, 2024, the newly posted DPO CSP Edewor Akponegware received credible information from a concerned resident (name withheld) that he cited some suspicious-looking boys around the Mango Tree Market and that they were armed.

“The DPO immediately led patrol teams of the division to the scene and in the process the following suspects were arrested, John Dalami 25, Musa Suleiman 25, Abdullahi Jibril 20, Solomon Uchechukwu 24, Yusuf Joda 21, Egboka Chukwu Charles 21, and Wisdom Sylvester 21,” he said.

Edafe said the search was conducted at the scene and a Bagco bag containing a locally made cut-to-size gun, and one live cartridge were recovered.

He said the suspects have confessed to being involved in a series of house-to-house armed robbery operations in Issele-Asagba, Coka, and Ibusa areas

The spokesperson said acting on the confessions of the suspects, the special Anti-Kidnapping and Cybercrime squad led the operatives to their hideout at the back of DDPA estate Asaba where six additional suspects were arrested and three locally made cut-to-size guns were recovered.