The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a 26-year-old housewife and her 30-year-old accomplice for allegedly staging her own kidnapping and extorting ₦2.5 million from her husband.
The command’s spokesperson, Abimbola Adebisi, confirmed the arrest in a statement issued on Saturday in Lagos.
Adebisi said the police received a distress call on November 24 from the woman’s husband through one of the command’s emergency lines, reporting that his wife had been kidnapped by armed men. According to her, the caller said the kidnappers initially demanded a ransom of ₦10 million, which was later reduced to ₦3 million. Despite paying ₦2.5 million, the woman was not released.
“Upon receipt of the complaint, the Command Special Squad immediately deployed human and technical assets to track the alleged kidnappers,” Adebisi said. “The supposed victim was eventually released and reunited with her family.”
She explained that during police debriefing, the woman claimed she was abducted by six armed men in a silver Toyota Venza, taken to their hideout and dispossessed of her iPhone 12 Pro Max. The suspect further alleged that the ransom paid by her husband was first credited into her bank account before being handed over to the kidnappers.
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However, Adebisi said investigations uncovered several inconsistencies in her account. She disclosed that on December 3, operatives arrested the accomplice 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, the accomplice confessed that the suspect requested the use of his SIM card to create the WhatsApp account used for the ransom negotiations,” Adebisi said. “He admitted providing the one-time password (OTP) sent to his line, which enabled her to operate the account.”
Following the confession, the woman was confronted and reportedly admitted to faking her own kidnapping in order to extort money from her husband, who resides in South Africa.
Further investigation also led to the recovery of the iPhone 12 Pro Max, which the suspect had claimed was with the kidnappers. The phone was recovered from a 34-year-old man who told investigators that he bought it from the suspect for ₦380,000 after being warned not to insert any SIM card into it.
Adebisi said investigations were ongoing and that the suspects would be charged to court upon the conclusion of the investigation. She added that the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Olohundare Jimoh, reiterated the command’s commitment to protecting lives and property, while warning the public against false reporting, criminal deception and actions capable of diverting critical security resources.
She urged residents to remain law-abiding and to promptly report suspicious activities through the command’s emergency numbers.
