The Police Command in Lagos State has arrested a 26-year-old housewife, Mrs. Misturah Bada, and her alleged accomplice, 30-year-old Adedamola Daniel, for allegedly staging a fictitious kidnapping and extorting ₦2.5 million from her husband.
The police confirmed that, the case began on the night of November 24, when officers from the Command received a distress call through its emergency lines from the suspect’s husband, who lives in South Africa. He reported that his wife had been abducted by armed men demanding an initial ₦10 million ransom, which was later reduced to ₦3 million. According to the complainant, after paying ₦2.5 million, his wife was still not freed, prompting authorities to intervene.
In a statement issued in Lagos, the Police Command’s spokesperson, Superintendent Abimbola Adebisi, said operatives of the Command’s Special Squad were immediately deployed using both human intelligence and technical resources to track the so-called kidnappers. After their efforts, the woman was “eventually released and reunited with her family.”
Recounting her experience to the police, Mrs. Bada claimed she had been abducted by “six armed men in a silver Toyota Venza” who took her to a hideout and stole her iPhone 12 Pro Max. She told investigators that the ransom money paid by her husband was first credited into her bank account before being transferred to the kidnappers.
However, police said several inconsistencies in her account raised suspicions and prompted a continued investigation. On December 3, officers tracked and arrested Mr. Daniel in Ede, Osun State, where they also recovered a SIM card believed to have been used to register the WhatsApp number through which ransom negotiations were communicated.
According to SP Adebisi, Daniel confessed that Mrs. Bada had asked to use his line to create the WhatsApp account used for the ransom negotiations. He admitted providing the one-time password (OTP) sent to his phone, enabling her to operate the account.
Confronted with this evidence, Mrs. Bada allegedly admitted staging her own kidnapping in an attempt to extort money from her husband. Further investigation led to the discovery of her iPhone 12 Pro Max, which she had earlier claimed was taken by kidnappers. The phone was recovered from 34-year-old Yusuf Sodiq, who told police he purchased it from Mrs. Bada for ₦380,000 and was instructed not to insert a SIM card into it.
Commissioner of Police, Olohundare Jimoh, reiterated the command’s commitment to safeguarding lives and warned that “false reports and criminal deception capable of diverting critical security resources” will not be tolerated. He urged residents to go about their lawful activities and to report any suspicious behaviour through the command’s emergency numbers.
Police said the investigation is ongoing and that both suspects will be charged to court upon conclusion of the probe.
