A 25-year-old pregnant housewife, Jamila Ardo is currently at the Yola Correctional Centre for allegedly staging her own kidnap and collecting a ransom of N2.076 million from her Facebook lover.
Ardo, who hails from Wauru Jabbe in the Yola South Local Government Area of Adamawa State, was said to have connived with one Abdulaziz, staged her own kidnap and collected the sum of N2.076 million as ransom from her lover, Adamu Ahmed, who is based in Abuja.
The suspect and Ahmed reportedly started a relationship after they met on Facebook, although Ahmed never knew he was dealing with a married woman.
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It was learnt that all through their relationship, they never had physical contact, but they however kept in touch online.
The charge sheet which contained details of the fraud, stated how Abdulaaziz, who connived with Ardo, put a call through to her lover, informing him that she had been kidnapped, demanded a ransom.
During negotiation for her release, Adamu was said to have heard Ardo crying, as she pleaded with him on the phone to pay the ransom.
Adamu was said to have deposited the money in a bank account with the name, Amina Mohammed.
“After sending the money, Adamu was informed by his lover that the kidnappers had released her.
“Adamu, however, became suspicious and filed a complaint at the State Investigation Bureau on November 16, 2021,” the charge stated.
Following Adamu’s complaints, the owner of the bank account used to collect the ransom was arrested.
This however led to the arrest of Ardo as the suspect confessed that she “Ardo” requested the account number to receive payment from a friend.
Before the bubble burst, Ardo’s husband had reportedly queried her source of income, as she claimed that her relatives sent the money.
She was subsequently arraigned before Chief Magistrate Court I, Yola, on criminal conspiracy and kidnapping, contrary to sections 60 and 248 of the Penal Code Law, were she pleaded not guilty.
The police prosecutor, Inspector Abubakar Nurudeen, prayed the Magistrate, Abdullahi Digil, to adjourn the case to enable the prosecution to forward the case file to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions for legal advice.
Counsel for the defendant, C. Crowealth, who appeared alongside T. K. David, pleaded with the court to allow his client have access to a medical facility considering her condition.
Crowealth further asked the court to order the prosecution to avail them with all necessary documents to enable them to prepare for the or their defence.
The case was adjourned to March 10 2022, while the suspect was ordered to be remanded in the Correctional Centre in Yola.
