The boy said he needed the money to buy clothes and celebrate his graduation.

The command arrested four other people in a case of criminal conspiracy and kidnapping, and paraded them in Jos on Thursday, August 15, 2019.

According to the Plateau Commissioner of Police, Isaac Akinmoyede, the teenager's father, Jerry Vichi, reported a case of kidnapping on July 19 after the boy failed to return home from an electrical wiring shop where he worked as an apprentice.

Vichi reported that he received a phone call from a hidden number informing him that his son had been kidnapped and a ransom of N500,000 demanded in exchange for his freedom.

However, the minor told the press he masterminded the fake abduction with his friends to raise money to buy clothes and celebrate his graduation.

"I was the one who initiated the plan and not my friends. I wanted my father to give me money for clothes and to also celebrate my graduation," he said.

The command also paraded dozens of other criminal suspects arrested for alleged crimes like kidnapping, armed robbery, culpable homicide and other cult-related activities across Plateau State.