A 26-year-old woman, identified simply as Misturah, has been arrested by the Lagos State Police Command for allegedly staging her own abduction and extorting N2.5 million from her husband.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the case was reported to the police on November 24 after a lawyer, Hamzat (surname withheld), alerted security operatives that his brother’s wife had been kidnapped by unknown armed men.
A source at the Lagos State Police Command, who spoke in confidence, disclosed that the supposed kidnappers initially demanded a ransom of N10 million for Misturah’s release.
According to the source, the demand was later negotiated down to N3 million, with N2.5 million eventually paid to secure her freedom.
Following the report, the police registered the complaint and launched an investigation into the alleged abduction.
“During ransom negotiations, the kidnappers reduced their demand to N3m. Subsequently, a sum of N2.5m was paid; however, the kidnappers initially refused to release the hostage.
“Upon receipt of the complaint, a team of police officers was deployed to track and rescue the victim.
Before operatives could locate the suspected criminals’ hideout, the complainant contacted the squad and reported that the victim had been released and reunited with her family,” the source narrated.
The source added that Misturah was invited to the command headquarters the following day, where she was debriefed and her statement recorded.
During interrogation, she reportedly claimed that she was abducted by six armed men who arrived in a silver Toyota Venza and whisked her away to an undisclosed location.
She further alleged that her iPhone 12 Pro Max was seized by the kidnappers and that she regained her freedom only after the payment of N2.5 million.
She also told detectives that the ransom was first paid into her bank account before being handed over to the abductors, insisting that the entire sum was delivered to them.
However, further investigations by the police reportedly uncovered inconsistencies in her account, leading to the arrest of a 30-year-old man, identified simply as Daniel, in Ede, Osun State, on December 3.
The source said, “A SIM card used to register the WhatsApp account through which ransom negotiations were conducted was recovered from Adedamola.
During interrogation, he stated that Misturah was an online acquaintance of about two years and that she requested the use of his SIM card to register a WhatsApp account.
“He stated that during the registration process, a one-time password was sent to him, which he forwarded to Misturah, enabling her to activate the WhatsApp account.
“He further stated that she informed him that the phone number would be used to resolve some personal issues.
“He claimed that after she concluded her use of the number, she deactivated the WhatsApp account and later informed him.
“However, he later began receiving multiple messages on the same line, which eventually caused WhatsApp to log him out of his own account.
“Upon contacting Misturah, she told him that she had used the account to settle issues between herself and her husband, one Ridwan, who is based in South Africa.”
Police sources said that when confronted with Daniel’s confession, Misturah admitted to orchestrating her own kidnapping in order to extort money from her husband.
PUNCH Metro further gathered that investigations also led to the recovery of the iPhone 12 Pro Max she earlier claimed was with the kidnappers.
“The phone was recovered from one Yusuf Sodiq, 34, to whom she allegedly sold it for N380,000. She warned the buyer not to insert any SIM card into the device until a later time,” the source added.
Confirming the incident on Tuesday, the spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command, Abimbola Adebisi, said investigations were ongoing.
“Investigations are ongoing, and appropriate charges will be filed at the conclusion of the probe,” she said.
The case is the latest in a series of self-orchestrated abductions uncovered by the police.
In April 2023, PUNCH Metro reported that the command arrested a couple who admitted to planning a self-kidnapping in a bid to raise N5 million to buy back their house in the Badagry area of Lagos State.