How Lagos housewife faked own kidnap, exorted millions from husband

The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a 26-year-old housewife, Misturah Bada, and her accomplice, Adedamola Daniel (30), for allegedly faking her own kidnapping and extorting N2.5 million from her husband based in South Africa.

Police spokesperson, SP Abimbola Adebisi, said the suspects were arrested after investigations revealed that the reported kidnap was staged.

According to the police, the command received a distress call on November 24, 2025, around 10:00 pm, from the woman’s husband, who reported that his wife had been kidnapped by armed men demanding a ransom of N10 million, later reduced to N3 million.

The husband reportedly paid N2.5 million, but the supposed kidnappers failed to release the victim, prompting the police to launch a full investigation.

Mrs. Bada was later “released” and reunited with her family. During questioning, she claimed 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 taken.

However, police said inconsistencies in her story raised suspicion.

Further investigation led to the arrest of Adedamola Daniel on December 3, 2025, in Ede, 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 asked him for his SIM card to open the WhatsApp account and that he provided the one-time password (OTP) sent to his line.

Confronted with the findings, Mrs. Bada allegedly confessed to faking her own kidnapping to extort money from her husband.

Police also recovered the iPhone she earlier claimed was with the kidnappers. The phone was recovered from one Yusuf Sodiq (34), who told investigators that he bought it from her for N380,000 and was warned not to insert a SIM card into it.

The Commissioner of Police, CP Olohundare Jimoh, warned residents against filing false reports and engaging in criminal deception, saying such acts divert critical security resources.

He urged the public to remain law-abiding and report suspicious activities through the police emergency lines.