The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a 26-year-old housewife, Misturah Bada, and her alleged accomplice, Adedamola Daniel, over a staged kidnapping that led to the extortion of N2.5m from her husband based in South Africa.
In a press statement e-signed and released to the National Association of Online Security News Publishers, NAOSNP by the Command’s Spokesperson, SP Abimbola Adebisi stated that, “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.”
According to the statement, “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.”
“Upon receipt of the complaint, human and technical assets of the Command Special Squad were immediately deployed to track the alleged kidnappers. 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 successfully operate the account.”
“Following his confession, Mrs. Misturah Bada was confronted and she admitted to faking her own kidnapping in order 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 to court upon conclusion of the investigation.”
“The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Police Command, CP Olohundare Jimoh, reiterates the Command’s commitment to protecting lives and properties and warns members of the public against false reporting, criminal deception, and acts capable of diverting vital security resources. Members of the public are encouraged to continue their lawful activities and promptly report any suspicious acts or movements to the Police through the Command’s emergency number: 0706 101 9374, 0806 515 4338, 0806 329 9264, 0803 934 4870.”
