Lagos Woman Arrested for Faking Own Kidnap, Extorting N2.5m From Husband
The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a 26-year-old woman, identified as Misturah, for allegedly staging her own abduction and fraudulently extorting N2.5 million from her husband.
The incident was reported to the police on November 24, 2025, after a lawyer, Hamzat (surname withheld), raised an alarm that his brother’s wife had been kidnapped by unknown gunmen.
A police source disclosed that the supposed kidnappers initially demanded a ransom of N10 million, which was later reduced to N3 million after negotiations. Eventually, N2.5 million was paid, but the victim was not immediately released, raising suspicion.
“Upon receiving the complaint, the command commenced investigation into the alleged kidnap. During negotiations, the ransom was reduced to N3 million, and N2.5 million was eventually paid. Despite this, the kidnappers initially failed to release the victim,” the source said.
Following the report, operatives were deployed to track the kidnappers and rescue Misturah. However, before any hideout could be located, the complainant later informed the police that she had been released and reunited with her family.
Misturah was invited to the command headquarters the next day, where she narrated that six armed men in a silver Toyota Venza abducted her and took her to an unknown location. She claimed her iPhone 12 Pro Max was seized and that she was only freed after the ransom payment, which she said was first paid into her bank account before being handed over to the kidnappers.
Further investigations, however, uncovered inconsistencies in her story. This led to the arrest of a 30-year-old man, Daniel, on December 3, 2025, in Ede, Osun State. Police recovered a SIM card allegedly used to register the WhatsApp account through which ransom negotiations were conducted.
During interrogation, Daniel said he had known Misturah online for about two years and that she requested to use his SIM card to open a WhatsApp account. He claimed he forwarded a one-time password sent to his phone, enabling her to activate the account.
Daniel added that Misturah later told him the line was used to resolve personal issues and that she subsequently deactivated the account. According to him, she later confessed that the account was used to settle issues between herself and her husband, Ridwan, who resides in South Africa.
When confronted with Daniel’s confession, Misturah reportedly admitted to staging her own kidnapping in order to extort money from her husband.
Investigations also led to the recovery of her iPhone 12 Pro Max, contradicting her earlier claim. The phone was recovered from a 34-year-old man, Yusuf Sodiq, to whom she allegedly sold it for N380,000, instructing him not to insert any SIM card until further notice.
Confirming the development, the spokesperson of the Lagos State Police Command, Abimbola Adebisi, said investigations were ongoing.
She added that appropriate charges would be filed against all suspects upon the conclusion of the investigation.