The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a 26-year-old housewife, Mrs. Misturah Bada, and her accomplice, Adedamola Daniel, 30, for allegedly staging her own kidnapping and extorting ₦2.5 million from her South Africa-based husband.
Operatives of the Command’s Special Squad arrested the suspects following investigations into a reported kidnapping case received on November 24, 2025.
Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Lagos Command, SP Abimbola Adebisi, who disclosed this said the husband of the supposedly kidnapped woman contacted the police on the case.
"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 N10 million, later reduced to N3 million.
"A sum of N2.5 million was subsequently paid by the husband, Mr. Bada, an innocent Nigerian resident in South Africa, yet the supposed kidnappers refused to release the victim," Adebisi explained.
Police said following the complaint, the Command deployed both human and technical resources to track the alleged kidnappers but Mrs. Bada was subsequently "released" and reunited with her family.
Adebisi further explained that during debriefing, Mrs Bada claimed that she was abducted by six armed men who were driving a silver Toyota Venza, took her to their hideout and dispossessed of her iPhone 12 Pro Max.
She further told investigators that the ransom paid by her husband was first credited to her bank account before being handed over to the kidnappers.
However, police investigations later uncovered discrepancies in her account. On December 3, 2025, operatives arrested one Adedamola Daniel in the Ede area of Osun State. A SIM card used to register the WhatsApp account through which ransom negotiations were conducted was recovered from him.
Police said Daniel confessed that Mrs. Bada requested his SIM card to open the WhatsApp account used for the negotiations and that he supplied the one-time password (OTP) sent to his line, enabling her to operate the account.
"Following his confession, the suspect, Misturah Bada, was confronted and she admitted to faking her own kidnapping to extort money from her husband," the Command disclosed.
Further investigation led to the recovery of the iPhone 12 Pro Max, which Mrs. Bada had earlier claimed was in the custody of the kidnappers. The phone was recovered from one Yusuf Sodiq, 34, who told police that he bought it from her for ₦380,000 and was warned not to insert any SIM card into it.
Confirming the development, the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, CP Olohundare Jimoh, warned members of the public against false reporting and criminal deception capable of diverting critical security resources.
"The Command remains committed to the protection of lives and property. Acts of false reporting and criminal deception will be dealt with decisively," the CP said.
He urged residents to continue their lawful activities and promptly report suspicious movements to the police through the Command’s emergency lines.
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