ESUT Student Fakes Kidnap with Boyfriend, Demands N10 Million Ransom

Awka, Anambra State – In a shocking incident highlighting “deepening moral decay among some youths,” the Anambra State Police Command has arrested a female student of Enugu State University of Technology (ESUT), Chinecherem Nwaokoye, and her boyfriend, Chinecherem Aronu, for allegedly faking Nwaokoye’s kidnap to extort N10 million from her parents.

Operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) launched an intelligence-led investigation after receiving a distressing report of Nwaokoye’s alleged abduction. Their swift action led them to a lodge at Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK) Temp Site in Awka, where they found Nwaokoye alive and in the company of Aronu.

According to the State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Tochukwu Ikenga, Chinecherem Nwaokoye had informed her family she was returning home from school but never arrived, and her phone remained switched off. On Wednesday, July 9, 2025, her family received a call from an unknown male voice claiming responsibility for her kidnapping and demanding a N10 million ransom. After negotiations, the ransom was reduced to N3 million, with an initial payment of N1 million reportedly made into Nwaokoye’s bank account.

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Upon interrogation, both suspects confessed to staging the elaborate kidnap plot. Nwaokoye admitted to masterminding the plan after watching a movie, stating her intention was to secure funds for her boyfriend to start a business.

The State Commissioner of Police, Ikioye Orutugu, has condemned the incident, describing it as a “clear sign of deepening moral decay among some youths.” He has directed that the suspects be charged to court without delay. Commissioner Orutugu also issued a stern warning that the command will not tolerate such criminal deception and urged parents and guardians to pay closer attention to their children’s activities and peer influences.