Self-Kidnapping for Profit: A Desperate Crime on the Rise
In recent years, Nigeria has witnessed a disturbing rise in self-kidnapping, a crime where individuals deliberately fake their own abduction, often to extract ransom money from family members, employers, or associates. What began as rare, isolated incidents has grown into a troubling trend, fuelled by economic hardship, unemployment, and the increasing normalisation of ransom payments in genuine kidnapping cases.
Criminal Method
Typically, a person will go into hiding and use a third party, or even a second phone line, to contact their relatives with a false ransom demand. Some involve friends or romantic partners in staging the fake abduction, while others go as far as tying themselves up or faking injury when “rescued.” The ransoms demanded often range from a few hundred thousand to millions of naira.
Real-Life Cases
Several self-kidnap cases have made headlines across Nigerian states.
In Lagos, a university student faked her abduction to pressure her father into sending money for a trip abroad.
In Plateau State, a man was arrested after pretending to be abducted and collecting ₦500,000 from his own parents.
In Kano, a woman conspired with her boyfriend to fake a kidnapping and demand ransom from her employer.
A Methodist Church pastor, Adewuyi Adegoke, hid himself in a hotel in Ado Ekiti and arranged with an accomplice to call his church and congregation that he had been kidnapped.
READ ALSO: Police arrest woman who ‘kidnapped’ self, 52 others
His sympathetic congregation raised the N3million ransom fund demanded by the purported abductors and took the money to the agreed location. In the meantime, security forces had traced the location of the ransom-seeking calls and had been in hiding at the pickup location for the ransom.
At the end of the day, the kidnapper and the kidnapped became one. Although no motive was given for the pastor’s self-kidnap, his wife reportedly confessed that her husband had been planning the kidnapping for months and she had tried to discourage him.
Motivation
The motivations vary from financial desperation, family disputes, to pressure to maintain a certain lifestyle. In a country where real kidnappings are rampant, self-kidnappers often believe their plan will succeed because of the climate of fear and urgency surrounding abductions.
The fact that people could now exploit kidnapping to the point of abducting themselves for money speaks volumes about how widespread kidnapping has become and how it is viewed as a money-making venture. Far from being a diversion on kidnapping, self-kidnapping is a sad commentary on the Nigerian situation as it is symbolic of the extent people are prepared to go to make money.
READ ALSO: Lagos police foil couple’s attempt to raise money through self-kidnap
Poverty
With over 60 per cent of Nigerians living below the poverty line and the informal sector far outweighing formal employment, financial instability has become fertile ground for desperate acts. Even modest ransoms can represent a windfall.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigerian households paid a staggering N2.23 trillion in ransom between May 2023 and April 2024, averaging about N2.67 million per incident, with ransoms paid in 65 per cent of all reported cases.
In many cases, perpetrators collaborate with friends or hired actors to increase realism and credibility.
Others act alone, sending fear-inducing messages to manipulate their targets. The economic logic is undeniable: self-kidnapping becomes a form of fraudulent entrepreneurship, illicit and immoral, yet driven by selfish necessity.
Legal Consequences
Under Nigerian law, self-kidnapping is a serious offence. It involves:
• Fraud
• Criminal conspiracy
• False information to law enforcement
• In some cases, obtaining money under false pretences
Perpetrators face arrest, prosecution, and possible imprisonment if found guilty.
Burden to Law Enforcement
READ ALSO: Insecurity: The fuss and force of self-defence, by Zainab Suleiman Okino
Self-kidnapping not only burdens already stretched law enforcement agencies but also diverts attention from real kidnapping cases, placing innocent lives at risk. It undermines trust within families and communities and worsens public perception of the nation’s security challenges.
When police, DSS, or local vigilantes are deployed to rescue someone who was never kidnapped, critical manpower and logistics are diverted.
In hotspots like Zamfara, Kaduna, or parts of the FCT, such distractions can prove catastrophic.
While the act of self-kidnapping may seem like a clever scheme to some, it is a criminal offence with serious consequences.
It reflects deeper social issues in Nigeria, economic struggles, mistrust, and insecurity, and calls for urgent action not only from law enforcement but also from social institutions, families, and communities.
Self-kidnapping is more than a personal act of deceit; it reflects broader societal dysfunction. In Nigeria, the commodification of empathy plays a critical role.
READ ALSO: Woman fakes insanity to escape justice after alleged kidnap of 3-year-old
Police warn perpetrators
The Nigeria Police Force has warned against the trend of self-kidnapping, saying it is a punishable offence under the law.
The police cautioned the public against engaging in the criminal act.
Giving the warning, police spokesperson, ACP Muyiwa Adejobi, disclosed how some suspects were arrested at various locations in Lagos and Abuja, following incidents of self-kidnapping.
Adejobi said, “The Police Force hereby cautions members of the public to be wary of this trend, while those with intent to venture into these criminal acts should desist, as the police will leave no stone unturned to cause such suspects to face the full wrath of the law.
“Equally, we vehemently encourage the media and social media influencers, bloggers, etc., to constantly verify news before broadcasting such, not to create panic and jeopardise our security arrangements.”
Compiled and edited by Gift Luckson.
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