Police Arrest Lagos Housewife For Faking Kidnap, Extorting N2.5m From Husband

The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a 26-year-old housewife, Mrs. Misturah Bada, for allegedly faking her own kidnapping and extorting N2.5m from her husband who resides in South Africa.

Also arrested in connection with the incident is her accomplice, Adedamola Daniel, 30, who allegedly aided the scheme by providing a SIM card used to negotiate the ransom.

Police said the case was reported on November 24, 2025, at about 10:00 p.m., when the husband raised an alarm through one of the Command’s emergency lines, claiming that his wife had been abducted by armed men who initially demanded a ransom of N10m, later reduced to N3m.

According to a statement on Saturday by the Command’s spokesperson Abimbola Adebisi, the husband paid N2.5m in a bid to secure his wife’s release, but the supposed kidnappers failed to free her, prompting the deployment of human and technical assets of the Command’s Special Squad to track the alleged criminals.

Mrs. Bada was later “rescued” and reunited with her family before being invited for debriefing.

During interrogation, she claimed that six armed men in a silver Toyota Venza abducted her, took her to their hideout and dispossessed her of an iPhone 12 Pro Max. She also stated that the ransom was first paid into her bank account before being handed over to the kidnappers.

“On 24 November 2025 at about 2200 hours, the Command received a distress call from the husband, through one of the emergency numbers, reporting that his wife, Mrs. Misturah Bada, had allegedly been kidnapped by armed men who demanded a ransom of N10m , later reduced to N3m. A sum of N2.5m was subsequently paid by the husband, Mr. Bada, an innocent Nigerian resident in South Africa, yet the supposed kidnappers refused to release the victim,” the statement read.

“Upon receipt of the complaint, human and technical assets of the Command Special Squad were immediately deployed to track the alleged kidnappers. The alleged victim, Mrs. Misturah Bada, was released and reunited with her family. After which she was invited and debriefed, during which she claimed that she was kidnapped by six armed men driving a silver Toyota Venza, taken to their stronghold, and dispossessed of her iPhone 12 Pro Max.”

However, further investigation revealed inconsistencies in her account. On December 3, 2025, operatives arrested Adedamola Daniel in Ede, Osun State, and recovered a SIM card used to register the WhatsApp account through which the ransom negotiations were conducted.

Daniel reportedly confessed that Mrs. Bada requested his SIM card to open the WhatsApp account and that he provided the one-time password sent to his line, enabling her to operate the account.

When confronted with the findings, Mrs. Bada admitted to faking her kidnapping in order to extort money from her husband, police said.

Further investigation led to the recovery of the iPhone 12 Pro Max from one Yusuf Sodiq, 34, who allegedly told investigators that he bought the phone from Mrs. Bada for N380,000 and was warned not to insert any SIM card into it.

The Commissioner of Police, Olohundare Jimoh, condemned the act and warned the public against false reporting and criminal deception capable of diverting vital security resources.

The Command reiterated its commitment to protecting lives and property and urged residents to promptly report suspicious activities to the police.

Police said investigations are ongoing, and the suspects will be charged to court upon conclusion of the investigation.

THE WHISTLER reports that a 15-year-old boy and four of his friends were recently arrested in Lagos for allegedly staging a fake kidnapping and extorting a ransom of N1.7m from the boy’s mother.

The suspects were arrested by operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Tactical Squad of the Lagos State Police Command on December 17 and 18, following investigations into a viral video showing a schoolboy pleading for mercy in what appeared to be a kidnappers’ den.

Police said the incident was initially reported on November 26, 2025, at the Ago Palace Police Division as a case of a missing person. However, preliminary investigations later revealed that the alleged kidnapping was deliberately orchestrated by the supposed victim, Victor Aligwo, aged 15, in collaboration with four of his friends.