December 21, 2025 l By Dalena Reporters
Lagos, Nigeria — The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a 26-year-old housewife, Misturah Bada, along with a 30-year-old accomplice, Adedamola Daniel, for allegedly staging her own kidnapping and extorting ₦2.5 million from her husband, who lives in South Africa, police confirmed on Sunday, December 21, 2025.
According to a statement by the police spokesperson, Superintendent Abimbola Adebisi, the incident began on November 24, 2025, when Misturah’s husband called the Lagos State Police Command through an emergency line to report that his wife had been kidnapped by unknown armed men who initially demanded ₦10 million as ransom — later reduced to ₦3 million.
The husband reportedly paid ₦2.5 million in an effort to secure her release, but the supposed kidnappers still refused to free her, prompting police to deploy both human and technical resources to trace the alleged perpetrators.
Police efforts led to Misturah’s “release,” and she was reunited with her family. During debriefing, she claimed that six armed men in a silver Toyota Venza abducted her, took her to a hideout, and took her iPhone 12 Pro Max. She also told investigators that the ransom payment was first credited into her bank account before being handed over to the kidnappers.
However, investigators grew suspicious due to inconsistencies in her account and launched further inquiries. On December 3, 2025, police arrested Adedamola Daniel in Ede, Osun State, recovering a SIM card used to register the WhatsApp account through which ransom negotiations were conducted.
During interrogation, Daniel confessed that Misturah had requested his SIM card to create a WhatsApp account used to communicate with her husband and that he supplied the one-time password (OTP) necessary to activate the account.
Confronted with the evidence, Misturah allegedly admitted to faking her own kidnapping to extort money from her husband. Further investigation led to the recovery of the iPhone 12 Pro Max she had claimed was taken by kidnappers; the device was found in the possession of Yusuf Sodiq, 34, who told police he bought it from her for ₦380,000 and was warned not to insert a SIM card into it.
The Commissioner of Police for Lagos State, Olohundare Jimoh, has reiterated the command’s commitment to protecting lives and property and warned the public against false reporting, criminal deception, and other acts that waste critical security resources.
Both Misturah Bada and her accomplice are expected to be charged in court upon the conclusion of the police investigation.