A 30-year-old man, Michael Alozie, has been arrested by soldiers attached to the 144 Battalion stationed at Ngwa High School, Aba, Abia State for allegedly conniving with a Senior Secondary 1 student, to fake her kidnap and demand a ransom of N1.5m from her parents.
Soldiers reportedly received a tip off that the suspect held the victim hostage in a hideout at Chokoneze, Mbaise, in Imo State.
A team of soldiers were said to have stormed the village on Tuesday, arresting Alozie, the Punch learnt.
Alozie, who claimed the student was his girlfriend, had earlier threatened the unnamed girl’s parents through repeated calls and text messages, demanding the said ransom.
He was also said to have impregnated the student and threatened to kill her if her parents failed to pay.
Meanwhile, the victim agreed to her own kidnap and in an alleged agreement, got pregnant for the suspect.
The parents, who didn’t know their daughter was not as innocent, reportedly agreed to pay N1m as ransom and while agreeing to pay the ransom, the parents alerted soldiers who traced the suspects to their hideout.
The suspect and the girl were arrested.
In his confession, Alozie claimed he planned to marry the student and blamed his friend, now at large, for sending threat messages to her parents, demanding ransom.
The Commanding Officer, 144 Battalion, Aba, Lt. Col. Kasim Umar Sidi, disclosed that a medical report revealed that the student was confirmed to be five months pregnant for her lover.
He noted that investigations were ongoing.
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