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A 26-year-old Lagos woman, identified simply as Misturah, has been arrested by the Lagos State Police Command for allegedly faking her own kidnapping and extorting ₦2.5 million from her husband under the guise of a ransom payment.
The incident was reported on November 24 after a lawyer, Hamzat (surname withheld), contacted the police to report that his brother’s wife had been abducted by unknown armed men. According to a police source who spoke to PUNCH Metro, the alleged kidnappers initially demanded a ransom of ₦10 million for Misturah’s release.
The source explained that during negotiations, the ransom demand was reduced to ₦3 million, with ₦2.5 million eventually paid by the victim’s family. Despite the payment, the supposed kidnappers reportedly delayed her release, prompting the police to commence a rescue operation.
“Following the report, the command registered the case and deployed operatives to track and rescue the victim. However, before officers could locate the hideout, the complainant informed the police that the victim had been released and reunited with her family,” the source said.
Misturah was invited to the command headquarters the following day, where she claimed she had been abducted by six armed men who arrived in a silver Toyota Venza. She further alleged that her iPhone 12 Pro Max was seized and that she was released only after the ₦2.5 million ransom was paid. She told investigators that the ransom was first paid into her bank account before being handed over to the kidnappers.
However, police investigations raised suspicions, leading to the arrest of a 30-year-old man identified as Daniel on December 3 in Ede, Osun State. According to the police, a SIM card used to register the WhatsApp account through which ransom negotiations were conducted was recovered from him.
During interrogation, Daniel reportedly confessed that Misturah, whom he had known online for about two years, requested his SIM card to register a WhatsApp account. He said he forwarded a one-time password to her, enabling her to activate the account, believing it would be used to resolve personal issues.
Further findings revealed that Misturah used the account to communicate with her husband, Ridwan, who resides in South Africa. When confronted with Daniel’s confession, Misturah allegedly admitted to staging her own kidnapping to extort money from her husband.
Investigators also recovered the iPhone 12 Pro Max she claimed was stolen. The phone was reportedly sold to one Yusuf Sodiq, 34, for ₦380,000, with instructions not to insert a SIM card.
Confirming the incident, Lagos State Police spokesperson, Abimbola Adebisi, said investigations were ongoing and that suspects would be charged accordingly.
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