Police Nab Merit Eleh, Accomplices for Faking Kidnapping in Delta

Two male accomplices and a 29-year-old lady who staged her kidnapping have been taken into custody by Delta State police in Asaba, the state capital.

According to a statement released by SP Bright Edafe, the public relations officer for the Delta State Police, the Delta State Police Command was notified at approximately 20:30 hours on July 21, 2025, of a kidnapping incident in which a female victim was allegedly taken by unidentified armed men in the Bonsaac neighborhood of Asaba.

The statement claims that “the Commissioner of Police, CP Olufemi Abaniwonda, acted promptly on the report and directed the Commander of the Special Anti-Kidnapping and Cyber Crime Squad, CSP Godwin Osadolor, to ensure that the victim is rescued unharmed.”

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In response to this order, the command directed agents to begin a concerted intelligence-based operation.

“The officers captured a male named Alfred Elisha at Koka Roundabout in Asaba and another suspect named Ugochukwu Adim off DLA Road in Asaba on July 22, 2025, at approximately 9:00 a.m., through careful investigation and tactical deployment.”

It was discovered that this was a plan between the victim and the suspects rather than a real kidnapping once the suspects were apprehended. As a result of his disclosure, 29-year-old Merit Eleh, the other suspect, was taken into custody.

In March 2025, she admitted that she had utilized the approximately three million six hundred thousand naira (₦3,600,000) that her brother had loaned her to pay for her bridal shower and hotel bill.

“She added that she fabricated her kidnapping in order to obtain a three million naira (₦3,000,000) ransom, from which she gave her accomplices 500,000 naira and retained another 500,000 naira for herself.”

“Every suspect has been taken into custody, and the investigation is still ongoing.”