The Edo State Police Command has uncovered and foiled what it described as a staged kidnapping orchestrated by a dispatch officer to conceal losses totalling ₦1,308,000 from online gambling, the command’s Public Relations Officer, Moses Yamu, has said.
In a statement issued on Monday, Yamu said the case was first reported on 30 January 2026 at about 4:00 pm, when Moses Ekes, an employee of Dibecs Industry Limited, informed the Okpella Police Division that his nephew, 21-year-old David Ekes, a dispatch officer with the company, had gone missing since 27 January.
According to the report, David Ekes left his quarters alone on an unregistered black motorcycle heading from Factory 2 to Factory 3, in violation of company policy, and did not return. The motorcycle was later found abandoned along the road leading to Factory 3 and was recovered to the company’s main office.
Police operatives visited the scene and began a search of nearby bush areas while investigations commenced.
However, in a twist to the case, information was received the next morning that the missing dispatch officer had returned on his own in a weakened state. He was taken to a hospital in Okpella, where police monitored his condition.
Upon discharge, Ekes initially told officers that he had been kidnapped by three unidentified men who forced him to trek barefoot through the forest for over three days, taking his Tecno Camon mobile phone and withdrawing funds from his First Bank account.
Further investigation by police revealed a different story. Officers established that between 25 and 26 January 2026, Ekes had lost ₦1,308,000 — money belonging to both his company and a customer — through online gambling on a visual sporty betting platform.
He subsequently travelled to Abuja, sold his mobile phone, checked into a hotel, and staged the kidnapping to cover up the financial loss. The suspect has since confessed.
Police said Ekes would be arraigned in court as a deterrent to others contemplating similar deception.
Reacting to the incident, the Commissioner of Police in Edo State, Monday Agbonika, warned against making false distress reports, noting that such actions squander valuable security resources and erode public trust.
The commissioner also cautioned young people against excessive gambling, warning that addiction could lead to desperation and criminal behaviour.
