The Lagos State Police Command has issued a robust warning to residents over a disturbing rise in staged kidnappings geared toward extorting ransom from unsuspecting members of the family.
The alert was issued by the command’s spokesperson, SP Abimbola Adebisi, throughout an interview with the Information Company of Nigeria (NAN).
In response to the police, a number of viral kidnapping movies and misery calls circulating on-line had been discovered to be scams orchestrated by the supposed victims themselves.
The Lagos Police Command says it’s intensifying monitoring efforts, significantly throughout social media, to detect and forestall the unfold of staged abduction schemes swiftly.
Adebisi confirmed that Commissioner of Police, Mr Olohundare Jimoh, has deployed tactical models and directed divisional officers to collaborate intently with group leaders to enhance info stream.
Police investigations present that a number of alleged kidnapping circumstances turned out to be orchestrated makes an attempt by victims themselves to defraud family members.
Police authorities confirmed that this was not an remoted incident, with related patterns being noticed throughout Lagos.
Additional investigations revealed extra incidents of faux abductions involving younger individuals and {couples} in search of to extort cash from their households.
These circumstances had been initially reported as real lacking individual incidents, fueling public panic earlier than police investigations revealed the reality.
The surge in faux kidnappings presents a troubling improvement in Nigeria’s broader kidnapping disaster.
The involvement of the so-called victims not solely complicates investigations but in addition weakens public belief in official safety alerts.
The Lagos State Police Command has urged residents to confirm kidnapping claims earlier than transferring cash or spreading panic.
Adebisi emphasised that safety is a shared duty and urged residents to assist regulation enforcement efforts to sort out each conventional and rising types of crime.