A 15-year-old boy, Victor Aligwo, has been arrested by the Lagos Police Command for allegedly staging his own abduction and extorting N1.7m from his mother under the guise of a kidnapping in Ago Palace area of the state.
He was apprehended by the police alongside four of his friends who assisted him in putting together the kidnapping tactics and collecting the ransom from the mother.
Those nabbed with the teenager were 17yrs old Kosiko Patrick, 19yrs old David Odudu, 20yrs old Anyabike Kingsley, and 19yrs old Umeh Victor.
As gathered, the case that was first reported at Ago Palace Division on 26th November, 2025 as a missing person but was later discovered to have been kidnapping incident after video of a schoolboy pleading for mercy in kidnappers’ den went viral.
After thorough investigation, it was established that the alleged kidnap was deliberately orchestrated by the victim, Victor Aligwo, in collaboration with four of his friends, using the room of his cohorts, Umeh Victor, to carry out the fake kidnapping act.
The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, CP Olohundare Jimoh, who confirmed the arrest through a statement made available to newsmen on Friday by the Command spokesperson, SP Abimbola Adebisi, stated that the suspects were apprehended by the intelligent operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Tactical Squad of the Lagos State Police Command.
He said: “Following diligent, intelligence-led, and discreet investigation, the suspects were apprehended on the 17th and 18th of December, 2025, at Volkswagen Roundabout and the Ago Palace area, respectively. The suspects who faked the Kidnapping incident were arrested and are now in police custody.
“Further investigation revealed that the suspects allegedly conspired to stage the fake kidnapping with the intent of extorting money from the mother of the suspected victim, Victor Aligwo, who had recently received the sum of ₦4 million from a contribution.
“To actualise and make the fake kidnapping real, the suspects recorded and circulated a distress video showing Victor Aligwo pleading for help, thereby creating fear and panic in the mind of his mother and his family to pay ransom to the alleged kidnappers.
“A ransom of ₦1.7 million was paid and later transferred to the account of one of the fake kidnappers by the mother to get him freed. The money was later shared amongst them.
“Following the payment, the Police operatives traced the Point-of-Sale (POS) terminal used for the ransom transaction, leading to the arrest of all suspects involved. Investigation into the matter is ongoing, and all the suspects will be charged before a court of competent jurisdiction for their prosecution”.
The Lagos Police boss, meanwhile, warned that residents should “desist from any form of crime and curtailed any form of criminal activities within the state, assuring that the Command will not relent in ensuring the safety of lives and property”.
