Police nab Methodist priest for faking own kidnap

Gbenga Sodeinde, Ado Ekiti

The Ekiti state Police Command has arrested a priest of the Methodist Church, Rev. Peter Adegoke Adewuyi for allegedly faking his own kidnap to collect ransom from church members and other individuals.

Also arrested by the police is one Sunday Oluwadare Adewole, who was helping the priest make calls to unsuspecting members of the public to demand ransom over the phantom kidnap.

A source at the command told our correspondent that the two suspects will be charged to court as soon as the police conclude their investigations.

The 31-year-old priest was said to have lodged in a hotel in Ado-Ekiti and hid himself from public view from where he and his accomplice made calls to unsuspecting church members to pay the ransom for his release, claiming that his captors demanded for N3 million before he regains his freedom.

The development reportedly threw his church into confusion with members raising cash to pay the ransom for what turned out to be fake kidnap saga.

The phoney kidnap stunt was busted by the police who intercepted and arrested the holder of the mobile phone used in making the N3 million ransom demand from family and church members.

Unknown to the priest, he was tracked to a location near First Bank in Okeyinmi area of Ado Ekiti where he had gone to pick up the supposed ransom.

While being interrogated by the police, Adewuyi confessed to have masterminded his own kidnap and demanding for the N3 million ransom.

The priest also confessed that he lodged at a hotel during the period of his self -enforced disappearance from the public.

The two suspects are presently being detained at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID).