A 25-year-old pregnant housewife, Jamila Ardo, has been remanded for allegedly kidnapping herself and collecting a ransom from her lover.
The suspect was arrested and arraigned before Magistrate Abdullahi Digil of the Chief Magistrate Court I, Yola, on criminal conspiracy and kidnapping, contrary to sections 60 and 248 of the Penal Code Law. She pleaded not guilty.
Mrs Ardo, who hails from Wauru Jabbe in the Yola South Local Government Area of Adamawa State, allegedly abducted herself and collected N2 million from Mallam Adamu Ahmed of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
She allegedly connived with one Abdulaziz to fake her own kidnap to defraud her lover, and succeeded in her plot.
The housewife reportedly used the ransom proceeds to buy a house, it was revealed.
It was gathered that the housewife and Ahmed reportedly fell in love after meeting on Facebook, unknown to the man that he was dealing with a married woman.
Though the relationship blossomed as they kept in touch online, the “lovers” never had physical contact.
Court documents revealed how Abdulaaziz, while conniving with Mrs Ardo, put a call through to her lover, informing him that she had been kidnapped and demanding a ransom.
During negotiation for her freedom, Adamu was said to have heard Mrs Ardo crying, as she pleaded with him on the phone to pay the ransom.
Adamu was said to have deposited the money in a bank account with the name Amina Mohammed.
“After sending the money, Adamu was informed by his lover that the kidnappers had released her.
“Adamu, however, became suspicious and filed a complaint at the State Investigation Bureau on November 16, 2021,” the court papers revealed.
Thereafter, police detectives arrested the owner of the bank account used to collect the ransom.
It was also revealed that Amina Mohammed confessed that her friend, Mrs Ardo, requested the account number to receive payment from a friend.
While this was going on, Ardo’s husband had reportedly queried her source of income, as she claimed that her relatives sent the money.
The police prosecutor, Inspector Abubakar Nurudeen, prayed the court to adjourn the case to enable the prosecution to forward the case file to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions for legal advice.
Counsel for the defendant, C. Crowealth, who appeared alongside T. K. David pleaded with the court to allow his client access to a medical facility considering her condition.
The magistrate granted the application and adjourned the matter till March 10, 2022.
