By SCM ONLINE REPORTER
A FEMALE politician in Nigeria has been thrown behind bars after allegedly staging her own armed kidnapping to pocket cash for her personal debts.
Grace Ogunleye—the deputy chief of a local government council in Nigeria—sparked a massive military and police manhunt when her car was found abandoned on a lonely road last month.
Cops and soldiers launched a dramatic rescue mission, eventually “saving” her after a day of intense searches.
But detectives soon smelled a rat.
Now, a court has ordered the high-flying politician to be remanded at a top-security correctional facility after police uncovered her shocking secret.
Ogunleye, the Vice Chairman of the Ilejemeje Local Government Area in Ekiti State, went missing on May 20.
Her vehicle was discovered completely empty by the side of a highway, with her mobile phone switched off.
Believing she had been snatched by ruthless armed bandits, a massive joint task force of police officers, soldiers, and local vigilantes scrambled to track her down.
The following day, local police proudly announced she had been “rescued unhurt” thanks to the immense pressure they put on the fake hoodlums.
But the story completely unraveled when cyber-cops and detectives started digging.
Investigators claim the desperate deputy chief completely fabricated the entire multi-thousand-pound plot to squeeze money out of panicked family members and political allies.
She allegedly needed the cash to pay off mounting personal debts and unfulfilled financial promises she had made to a powerful backroom politician.
Chief Magistrate Abayomi Adeosun ordered her to be held in prison custody while prosecutors finalize the case.
Kidnapping for ransom is a massive, terrifying crisis in Nigeria, often carried out by heavily armed gangs known locally as “bandits.” Just weeks before this incident, heavily armed gunmen stormed a church in the exact same local government district, killing a pastor and snatching 15 worshippers.
The Backlash: The local government chairman, Pius Dada, publicly condemned his deputy’s actions, calling the stunt “embarrassing” and an insult to the security forces who risk their lives daily. He promised that “nobody is above the law,” regardless of their political status.
The Legal Process: Ogunleye has been hit with multiple criminal counts relating to fraud and staging a self-abduction. Under Nigerian law, staging a kidnapping can carry severe prison sentences as states clamp down on “DIY” ransom scams.
