Police arrest mother, accomplices over staged kidnapping of her 2-year-old son in Plateau

The Nigeria Police Force has arrested a woman identified as Catherine Davou, along with two accomplices, over the alleged staged kidnapping of her two-year-old son, Rito Jesse Davou, in the Rantiya area of Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State.

In a statement on Friday by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, the police said Davou had conspired with Nansik Wuyep Sule and Luka Emmanuel Butdam to kidnap her biological son with the intention of collecting ransom from her wealthy mother-in-law.

The statement, posted on the Nigeria Police Force’s official X account, stated that after taking the toddler, he was kept at Sule’s residence, while Butdam allegedly made ransom-related calls to the child’s grandmother.

Iniedu added that the suspects initially demanded a ransom of N7 million but later increased it to N15 million before the child was eventually rescued and reunited with his family.

Iniedu noted that the police had initially arrested Sule in connection with the kidnapping of the two-year-old, while further investigation revealed that he had conspired with the child’s mother to stage the kidnapping and create the impression that the child had been abducted.

“The Nigeria Police Force, through operatives of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT), has uncovered a staged kidnapping scheme and separately arrested members of a suspected kidnapping and armed robbery syndicate in two intelligence-led investigations.

“In the first case, operatives arrested Nansik Wuyep Sule, 34, in connection with the reported kidnapping of two-year-old Rito Jesse Davou.

“Investigation revealed that Sule allegedly conspired with the child’s biological mother, Catherine Davou, to stage the kidnapping and create the impression that the child had been abducted, with an initial ransom demand of N7 million.

“Further investigation revealed that the child was kept at Sule’s residence, where a subsequent ransom demand of N15 million was made. Another suspect, Luka Emmanuel Butdam, was also arrested for allegedly making calls to the child’s grandmother in connection with the ransom demand.

“The child was subsequently located and safely rescued and, after receiving medical attention, handed over to his biological father,” the statement read.