The wife of a pastor of a new generation church, Mrs
Victoria Elijah Ndu, who was alleged to have kidnapped herself while
demanding a ransom of N3 million from her husband and church members,
has confessed to have carried out the crime, saying she did it to raise
money after being abandoned by her husband after years of childlessness.
Mrs Ndu, 30, is currently being detained at the state police
command headquarters, Ikot Akpanabia, Akwa Ibom State, for abducting
herself, while negotiating with her husband and relations for the
payment of the ransom.
Speaking during her parade by the police command in the
state alongside 140 other suspects arrested for various offences, Mrs
Ndu admitted that the thought of faking her own kidnap to raise money
stemmed from alleged abandonment by her husband following years of
childlessness, which resulted in face-off between her husband, the
in-laws and neighbours.
According to her, “After courting since 1998, we finally got
married in 2007. I had six miscarriages and the last one was so severe
that I had to be operated upon.
“Because of the problem of childlessness, people were
taunting me and my husband jeered at me all the time before finally
abandoning me and starting a new relationship with another girl at the
University of Uyo.
“I pleaded with him to dissolve the marriage so I can be
free to walk away to pick up the broken pieces of my life, but he
refused. When my mother died, he refused to help me so I can give her a
befitting burial.
“Faced with this situation, I was asked to adopt children, but there was no money to do that.
“In order to raise the cash for the burial of my late mother
as well as to adopt two children, the thought of kidnapping myself came
to me,” she said.
“I had to escape to Owerri, Imo State and stayed with my
brother, while negotiating for the ransom of N3 million after I had
contacted my husband that I had been kidnapped,” she added.
The state Commissioner of Police, Mr Muazu Zubairu, who
addressed journalists for the first time since he assumed duty in the
state, said “we arrested her in Owerri, through our network and
discovered the kidnap was a scam.”
Besides, the CP said the police have arrested one of the
suspected armed robbers, who robbed government officials of N4.5
million, withdrawn from a second generation bank along Barracks Road,
Uyo.
He said N2.8 million had been recovered from the criminals,
with various brands of arms and ammunition, including AK 47 and two
cars.
The police boss, therefore, warned cultists, hoodlums and
political thugs, who had been terrorising Etim Ekpo and Ukanafun Local
Government Areas of the state ahead of the November 11 council polls, to
steer clear of the state.
