Operatives of the Lagos State Police Command have arrested a housewife, Misturah Bada and an accomplice over a staged kidnap and extortion of N2, 500,000 ransom payment from the husband residing in South Africa.

In a statement issued Saturday by the Command’s spokesperson, SP Abimbola Adebisi, the police revealed they had received a distress call from an unsuspecting husband reporting that his wife had been kidnapped and was still being held despite a ransom payment.

The statement reads, “Operatives of the Command Special Squad have arrested a housewife, Mrs Misturah Bada ‘f’, aged 26 years, alongside her cohort, Adedamola Daniel ‘m’, aged 30 years, for false kidnapping, conspiracy, and extortion.

“On 24 November 2025 at about 2200 hours, the Command received a distress call from the husband, through one of the emergency numbers, reporting that his wife, Mrs Misturah Bada, had allegedly been kidnapped by armed men who demanded a ransom of ₦10 million, later reduced to ₦3 million.

“A sum of ₦2.5 million was subsequently paid by the husband, Mr Bada, an innocent Nigerian resident in South Africa, yet the supposed kidnappers refused to release the victim.”

According to the statement, upon receipt of the complaint, human and technical assets of the Command Special Squad were immediately deployed to track the alleged kidnappers.

The statement added, “The alleged victim, Mrs Misturah Bada, was released and reunited with her family. After which she was invited and debriefed, during which she claimed that she was kidnapped by six armed men driving a silver Toyota Venza, taken to their stronghold, and dispossessed of her iPhone 12 Pro Max. She further stated that the ransom of ₦2.5 million was first paid into her bank account before being handed over to the kidnappers.

“Further investigation, however, uncovered inconsistencies in her claims. On 3 December 2025, operatives arrested Adedamola Daniel in the Ede area of Osun State. A SIM card used to register the WhatsApp account through which ransom negotiations were conducted was recovered from him.”

“During interrogation, he confessed that the suspect Misturah Bada had requested the use of his SIM card to open the WhatsApp account used for the ransom negotiations and that he provided the OTP sent to his line, which enabled her to operate the account successfully.”

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The statement further revealed that, “Following his confession, Mrs Misturah Bada was confronted and she admitted to faking her own kidnapping to extort money from her husband, who resides in South Africa. Further investigation led to the recovery of the iPhone 12 Pro Max, which Mrs Bada had earlier claimed was with the kidnappers.

“The phone was recovered from Yusuf Sodiq, aged 34, who admitted that he purchased the phone from her at the rate of ₦380,000, having been warned not to insert any SIM card into it at the time. Investigation into the case is ongoing; Misturah Bada and her accomplices, Adedamola Daniel, will be charged in court upon conclusion of the investigation.”

The Commissioner of Police, CP Olohundare Jimoh, reiterates the Command’s commitment to protecting lives and properties, warning members of the public against false reporting, criminal deception, and acts capable of diverting vital security resources.

Jimoh encouraged the public to continue their lawful activities and promptly report any suspicious acts or movements to the Police through the Command’s emergency numbers: 0706 101 9374, 0806 515 4338, 0806 329 9264, 0803 934 4870.

TVC News previously reported that the Lagos State Police Command has arrested five suspected members of a fake-kidnap syndicate connected to a “stage-managed” kidnapping incident in a viral video of a schoolboy pleading for mercy in the state.

According to a statement released Friday by the Command’s spokesperson, SP Abimbola Adebisi, an operation led by ‘smart detectives and intelligent operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Tactical Squad’ on Thursday revealed that the victim, Victor Aligwo, had conspired with friends to extort money from his mother.

Police Bust Fake-Kidnapping Syndicate, Arrest Five Suspects in Lagos