The Benue State Police Command has arrested two women for allegedly staging a fake kidnapping scheme to extort money from a family.

The command’s spokesperson, DSP Peter Aondongu, disclosed this in a statement issued on Wednesday and made available to journalists in Makurdi.

According to Aondongu, one of the suspects, identified as Mary Torkuma, who resides in Akpehe, Makurdi, left her home on July 12, 2026, to visit a friend, Miss Evergreen Samuel, at North Bank, a suburb of the state capital.

The police spokesperson said the two women allegedly conspired to deceive Torkuma’s family into paying a ransom by falsely claiming that she had been abducted.

The statement read in part, “On 15th July 2026, a report was received by the Command’s Violence Crime Response Unit, Makurdi, that one Miss Mary Torkuma of Akpehe, Makurdi, had left her apartment on 12th July 2026 to visit a friend in the North Bank area of Makurdi.

“The following day, her mother, who resides in Lagos State, received a telephone call from an unknown number demanding a ransom and claiming that her daughter had been kidnapped.”

Aondongu said operatives of the Violence Crime Response Unit launched an intelligence-driven investigation, which led them to a hotel in the Ankpa Quarters area of Makurdi, where the alleged victim, Mary Torkuma, was found alongside her accomplice, Evergreen Samuel.

He added that Samuel had travelled from Abia State to take part in the alleged scheme.

The police spokesperson said further investigation revealed that the suspects allegedly planned the fake abduction to extort money from Torkuma’s mother by creating the impression that she had been kidnapped.

He said the suspects were currently in police custody while investigations continued, adding that they would be charged to court after the conclusion of the probe.

The statement quoted the Commissioner of Police, Cletus Nwadiogbu, as warning residents against engaging in criminal activities, including staging false kidnapping incidents.

The commissioner noted that such acts divert security resources from genuine emergencies and are punishable under the law.

The command assured residents of its commitment to intelligence-led policing and urged members of the public to report suspicious activities to the nearest police station. (PUNCH)

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