A 26-year-old woman, identified as Misturah, has been arrested for allegedly staging her own abduction and extorting N2.5 million from her husband under the pretense of a kidnapping.

The incident was reported to the police on November 24 when a lawyer, Hamzat (surname withheld), approached authorities to report that his brother’s wife had been kidnapped by unknown armed men.

A source in the Lagos State Police Command, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the supposed abductors initially demanded a ransom of N10 million for Misturah’s release. The amount was later reduced to N3 million during negotiations, and N2.5 million was eventually paid.

“After the report of her alleged kidnapping, the command launched an investigation. During ransom talks, the kidnappers lowered their demand to N3 million. A sum of N2.5 million was paid, but the kidnappers initially refused to release the victim,” the source said.

The police team was deployed to locate the supposed criminals’ hideout. Before they could reach the location, the complainant reported that Misturah had been released and reunited with her family.

Misturah was invited to the command headquarters the following day, where she gave a statement claiming that six armed men in a silver Toyota Venza had abducted her and taken her to an undisclosed location. She said her iPhone 12 Pro Max was seized and that she was released after the payment of N2.5 million.

She also told investigators that the ransom money was initially transferred into her bank account before being handed over to the kidnappers.

However, further investigation raised suspicions, leading to the arrest of a 30-year-old man, identified as Daniel, on December 3 in Ede, Osun State.

“A SIM card used to register the WhatsApp account through which the ransom negotiations were conducted was recovered from Daniel. He admitted that Misturah, an online acquaintance of about two years, had asked to use his SIM card to register a WhatsApp account,” the source explained.

Daniel said that during the registration process, a one-time password was sent to him, which he forwarded to Misturah, enabling her to activate the account. She reportedly told him the number would be used to resolve personal issues with her husband, Ridwan, who lives in South Africa.

Confronted with Daniel’s confession, Misturah allegedly admitted to faking her kidnapping to extort money from her husband.

Investigators also recovered the iPhone 12 Pro Max, which she had claimed was with the kidnappers. It was reportedly sold to one Yusuf Sodiq, 34, for N380,000, with instructions not to insert any SIM card into the device until further notice.

When contacted, the Lagos State Police spokesperson, Abimbola Adebisi, confirmed the incident, saying: “Investigations are ongoing, and appropriate charges will be filed at the conclusion of the probe.”

The case is the latest in a series of self-orchestrated abductions uncovered by law enforcement. In April 2023, the police arrested a couple who admitted to planning a self-kidnapping to raise N5 million to reclaim their house in Badagry, Lagos State.