by Rachel Ogbu

A 23-year-old Lebanese has been arrested for kidnapping his 61-year-old aunty.

On Thursday, Mohammed Dannawi told journalists that he committed the crime to punish her.

“My aunty did something very bad to my wife and I and so I decided to punish her. I met with Obi (Kwentua) and told him that I wanted my aunty kidnapped. I gave him the spare key to her house and he in turn hired some boys to do the work,” he said.

“On the day of the operation, I left the house and five guys stormed the place and took my aunty away. The plan was not to demand money from her, it was just punishment.”

But the deal went burst and the kidnappers, demanded N100m ransom but later agreed to collect N4m. Reports say it was while attempting to collect the ransom that one of the suspects was arrested while others ran into hiding.

[READ: 3 female kidnap suspects arrested with N1.2 million ransom in Delta ]

According to reports, the Police Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide, said after Essa went missing, policemen started by interrogating members of her immediate family.

“On May 2, 2013, at about 3:15am, a Lebanese woman, Essa Dannawi, who is 61 years old, was kidnapped at her residence at 40, Abule Nla Road, Ebute Meta and the case was transferred to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad. The officer in charge, Abba Kyari, had an extensive interview with members of her family and her nephew (Mohammed) was arrested on May 9,” she said.

“Upon interrogation, he confessed to organising the kidnap because his aunt offended him. SARS operatives used him to arrest his accomplice (Kwentua) at Rita Lori Hotel, Surulere, where he came to collect N4m from the relatives of the victim. She (Essa) was later released at Oyingbo area.”

It was learnt that the other suspects were still at large.