Ondo Pastor, Wife Nabbed Over Fake Kidnapping, ₦10m Extortion Attempt

The Ondo State Police Command has arrested a 62-year-old pastor, identified as Pastor Sanmori, and his 42-year-old wife, for allegedly staging a fake kidnapping to extort ₦10 million from relatives abroad.

The couple, residents of Road 5, Powerline area of Ondo City, were said to have conspired to create the impression that Mrs. Sanmori had been abducted, in a bid to pressure family members overseas into sending money as ransom.

According to police investigations, on August 23, Mrs. Sanmori hid inside a room within their home while her husband raised alarm and contacted relatives, appealing for urgent financial support to secure her release.

However, their scheme collapsed when one of the relatives, Mr. Fasegha O. Joseph, became suspicious of the supposed abduction. He subsequently petitioned the Commissioner of Police, CP Adebowale Lawal, who ordered the Special Anti-Kidnapping Squad (SAKS) to investigate the matter.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Olushola Ayanlade, confirmed that operatives uncovered the plot, leading to the arrest of the pastor and his wife.

“The suspects deliberately fabricated a case of kidnapping involving the pastor’s wife with the intent to fraudulently obtain the sum of ₦10 million from relatives abroad. The wife was later found hiding in their residence. Both have confessed to the crime and will be charged to court,” Ayanlade said.

The development has sparked widespread shock in Ondo community, with many expressing disbelief that a clergyman and his spouse could be involved in such a plot.

Police authorities assured the public that criminal acts, regardless of who is involved, would not go unpunished.