The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a 26-year-old housewife, Mrs. Misturah Bada, and six other suspects in two separate cases involving staged kidnappings orchestrated to extort money from family members.
Mrs. Bada was apprehended by operatives of the command’s Special Squad alongside her alleged accomplice, Adedamola Daniel, 30.
Police said she allegedly faked her own abduction and extorted ₦2.5 million from her husband, a Nigerian living in South Africa.
According to police findings, the husband raised the alarm on November 24 after receiving information that his wife had been kidnapped and a ransom of ₦10 million demanded.
The amount was later reduced to ₦3 million, and he eventually paid ₦2.5 million.
When his wife was not released after payment, he reported the matter to the police.
Police investigations led to Mrs. Bada being located and reunited with her family.
During debriefing, she claimed she had been kidnapped by six armed men who also took her iPhone 12 Pro Max.
However, detectives said inconsistencies in her account prompted further investigation.
On December 3, police arrested Daniel in Ede, Osun State. A SIM card linked to the WhatsApp account used for ransom negotiations was recovered from him.
He reportedly confessed that Mrs. Bada requested the SIM card to create the account and provided the one-time password used to operate it.
Confronted with the evidence, Mrs. Bada admitted to staging the kidnapping to extort money from her husband.
Her phone, which she had earlier claimed was with the kidnappers, was later recovered from one Yusuf Sodiq, 34, who told police he bought it from her for ₦380,000.
In a related development, operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Tactical Squad arrested five suspects over a viral video showing a schoolboy allegedly kidnapped.
Police said the case, initially reported as a missing person incident on November 26, was staged by the boy, Victor Aligwo, 15, in collaboration with four friends.
Investigations revealed that the suspects recorded a distress video of Aligwo pleading for help in a room belonging to one of them, with the intention of extorting money from his mother, who had recently received ₦4 million.
A ransom of ₦1.7 million was reportedly paid and shared among the suspects before police traced the transaction through a Point of Sale (POS) terminal and made arrests.
The suspects were identified as Kosiko Patrick, 17; Victor Aligwo, 15; David Odudu, 19; Anyabike Kingsley, 20; and Umeh Victor, 19.
Reacting to the incidents, the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, CP Olohundare Jimoh, warned against false reporting, criminal deception, and actions that divert security resources.
He reaffirmed the command’s commitment to protecting lives and property and urged residents to promptly report suspicious activities through police emergency lines.
Police said all suspects will be charged to court upon the conclusion of investigations.
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