The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a 26-year-old housewife, Misturah Bada, and her alleged accomplice, Adedamola Daniel, 30, for reportedly faking her own kidnapping and extorting ₦2.5 million from her husband, who resides in South Africa.
The police spokesperson, SP Abimbola Adebisi, disclosed that the arrests followed investigations which uncovered that the reported abduction was deliberately staged.
According to Adebisi, the command received a distress call at about 10:00 p.m. on November 24, 2025, from the woman’s husband, who claimed that his wife had been kidnapped by armed men demanding a ransom of ₦10 million, later reduced to ₦3 million.
The husband reportedly paid ₦2.5 million to secure her release. However, when the supposed kidnappers failed to free the victim, the police launched a comprehensive investigation into the incident.
Mrs. Bada was later “released” and reunited with her family. During interrogation, she told police that she was abducted by six armed men driving a silver Toyota Venza and taken to an unknown location, where her iPhone 12 Pro Max was allegedly seized.
Police said inconsistencies in her account immediately raised suspicion.
Further investigation led to the arrest of her alleged accomplice, Adedamola Daniel, on December 3, 2025, in Ede, Osun State. Investigators recovered a SIM card used to register the WhatsApp account through which ransom negotiations were conducted.
According to the police, Daniel confessed that Mrs. Bada requested his SIM card to open the WhatsApp account used in communicating with her husband and that he provided the one-time password (OTP) sent to his line.
When confronted with the evidence, Mrs. Bada allegedly confessed to staging her own kidnapping in order to extort money from her husband.
Police also recovered the iPhone she had earlier claimed was in the possession of her abductors. The phone was traced to one Yusuf Sodiq, 34, who told investigators that he purchased it from Mrs. Bada for ₦380,000 and was warned not to insert a SIM card into it.
The Commissioner of Police, CP Olohundare Jimoh, cautioned residents against making false reports or engaging in criminal deception, noting that such actions waste valuable security resources and undermine public safety.
He urged members of the public to remain law-abiding and to report suspicious activities through the police emergency lines.
