A 26-year-old Lagos woman, Misturah, was arrested for allegedly faking her kidnapping to extort N2.5m from her husband. Police investigations continue

A 26-year-old woman identified as Misturah has been arrested for allegedly staging her own kidnapping and extorting N2.5 million from her husband, the Lagos State Police Command has confirmed.

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A lawyer, Hamzat, reported to police that his brother’s wife had been abducted by unknown armed men.

The alleged kidnappers demanded a ransom of N10 million, which was later reduced to N3 million, and eventually N2.5 million was paid.

Police launched an investigation, deploying a team to locate the kidnappers.

However, Misturah was reunited with her family before the operation could locate the perpetrators.

During questioning, Misturah claimed six armed men in a silver Toyota Venza had abducted her and seized her iPhone 12 Pro Max.

She alleged that she was only released after the ransom was paid.

Further investigations led to the arrest of a 30-year-old man, Daniel, in Ede, Osun State.

Daniel, who had provided a SIM card Misturah used for WhatsApp communications with the supposed kidnappers, revealed that Misturah had orchestrated the scheme to extort money from her husband, Ridwan, who resides in South Africa.

Police also recovered the iPhone 12 Pro Max, which Misturah had sold to a man named Yusuf Sodiq for N380,000.

The Lagos State Police Command spokesperson, Abimbola Adebisi, confirmed the arrest and said investigations are ongoing, with appropriate charges to be filed upon conclusion.

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This case adds to a growing trend of self-orchestrated kidnappings in Lagos.