Michael James, a man from Edo State residing in Delta State, has confessed to staging his own kidnapping in a failed attempt to extort N25 million from his family in a disturbing case that has drawn renewed attention to rising fraudulent kidnapping claims in Nigeria.
The confession was contained in an interrogation video shared on Sunday by the Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, Bright Edafe, who confirmed that the suspect was tracked using digital intelligence after a distress call was received.
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According to James, the incident began on 1 July 2026 when he was asked to dispose of refuse.
Instead of returning home, he abandoned his wheelbarrow and hid in a nearby bush, setting the stage for what later became a fabricated abduction claim.
“I kidnapped myself,” James admitted. “The reason I kidnapped myself was that I owed my sister and my brother, and I had already spent the money. I had no way of paying it back.”
He explained that after going into hiding, he contacted his mother and falsely claimed he had been abducted, with kidnappers demanding N25 million for his release.
He further alleged that he later told his family he was being beaten by his supposed captors and pressured them into sending N700,000.
As panic grew within the family, James said authorities and local vigilantes became involved in efforts to locate him. This development, he admitted, made him increasingly anxious about being discovered.
“When it was about to rain, I took a motorcycle to another place,” he said, adding that he later called his family again to claim he had escaped from his kidnappers.
Police authorities, however, were already closing in. Bright Edafe stated that operatives deployed digital tracking tools to trace the suspected location of the abduction.
Upon confrontation, James reportedly emerged and initially maintained he had escaped before eventually confessing to staging the entire incident.
“We received a distress call that he was kidnapped,” Edafe said. “The command embarked on digitally generated intelligence and trailed him to where he was allegedly being kept, only for the suspect to run out, claiming he escaped from the kidnappers.”
“He later confessed that he kidnapped himself so he could extort his family the sum of N25m,” he added.
The case adds to a growing number of self-staged kidnapping incidents reported in parts of Nigeria, where some individuals have exploited widespread insecurity fears to attempt financial extortion.
Security analysts say such cases complicate genuine rescue operations and place additional strain on law enforcement resources.
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Authorities have continued to warn against false kidnapping reports, stressing that offenders will be prosecuted under relevant criminal laws.
Peculiar Adirika is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering news, business, and public affairs.
