Edo Woman Claims She Faked Kidnapping as a Drama to Clear Debt

Oluchi Ugbowan, who Edo State Police arrested for faking her kidnapping, has spoken out.

Police detained the 45-year-old after her family claimed kidnappers took her and demanded N50 million as ransom. Officers caught Mrs Ugbowan along with three others at a hotel in the Ikpoba Hills area.

The police spokesperson, Eno Ikoedem, shared a video of Mrs Ugbowan and the others being shown to the public on her Facebook page on Tuesday.

In the video, Mrs Ugbowan insisted that no one kidnapped her. She said she went into hiding by her own choice. She explained that she did this because of the debts she owed to people in her community.

She said, “I was not kidnapped, but I went into hiding. Two days later, I called him (Israel Ability) again. He said the matter had escalated and asked how much they (my family) had in hand. They said N3.5 million. I said, ‘Let’s manage it.’ They said they wanted to add to the money, but it was reduced to N20 million.

“I told him (Ability) it was too much. If we had N5 million, we would be fine. I could pay off the debt because we had agreed on one week. We acted it out as a drama. So I approached these children (Ability and his younger brother). He came with his younger brother. I told them I wanted to stage a drama that would look like a kidnapping.”

Mrs Ugbowan also revealed that she suggested using a cutlass to scare her family in a video. She said when they talked about tying her hands and legs, she learned that Ability’s father had a gun. She chose the gun instead of the cutlass.

“I told them to put the cutlass on my neck and said, ‘Say your last prayer.’ When we were discussing it, the children said their father had a gun, but the father was not around. I asked if there were any bullets, but they said there were none. I said, ‘If you have a gun, go and bring it. It’s better.’

“So they went inside and brought the gun. I told them to put it on my neck and said, ‘Say your last prayer.’ It was inside the room that we acted it out. I was the one who tied my hands. My mindset was that if they saw stronger evidence, they would come up with a better negotiation,” she said.

Mrs Ugbowan admitted that she regretted her actions and felt bad about being caught by the police.

“That was not my intention. It was the debt that was weighing heavily on me. They can ask people, even LAPO came to my place that day (the day I went missing), and that was what motivated me. I said, ‘Let me just do this and see how much I will get.’”

Israel Ability shared that he agreed to help Mrs Ugbowan hide on 27 May after she kept asking him to take part in the kidnapping act. The 28-year-old said he bought the SIM card used, made the call, and dealt with other related issues.

He noted, “We had an agreement where she came to me and said if I could help her with some plans. She told me about the plans, and I said, “Okay, fine.” After so much pressure and begging, I said, “Okay, no problem.” Because, before that day, she had told me her plan to go and hide. And I said okay, no problem, fine, if that is the case. So I got the SIM card, and then she told me to go to a bar and wait for her so we could go to a hotel to start the call.

“She is very popular in Agbor. We took a bike, and the bike man took us to a nearby hotel. When we got there, she gave me money, and I paid the hotel fees. When we got there, we inserted the SIM card into her phone and used it to make the call. She said I should call her husband directly to ask for money. I just said 50 million, and that was what I requested from the man. I think it was a Thursday when the police caught me.”

Ability expressed regret, saying he should not have gotten involved.

“I just feel bad because I thought I was even trying to help her. I have landed myself in a big mess. We did not bargain for anything, no percentage. But I wanted to help her, and surely I knew that something would come out of it for me,” he said.

Chinedu Chibuzor, Ability’s younger brother, said he joined in because he was told it was a church drama.

The 18-year-old said, “I do not know Madam Oluchi. I was the one who pointed a gun at her head and told her to say her last prayer. She said she wanted to perform a drama in the church. My father owned the gun.”

The police also showed Ability’s father, who confirmed he owned the gun used in the video sent to Mrs Ugbowan’s family.

The 39-year-old said his family got him the unlicensed gun for his vigilante work.

“It’s my gun. My family bought it for me, and it was not licensed. The video was recorded in my house. They are my children. I know Madam Oluchi through my wife.