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 N2.5 million from her husband.
The command’s spokesperson, SP Abimbola Adebisi, confirmed the arrests in a statement issued on Saturday in Lagos.
According to Adebisi, the police received a distress call on Nov. 24 via one of its emergency lines from the woman’s husband, who reported that his wife had been kidnapped by armed men.
She said the caller disclosed that the kidnappers initially demanded a ransom of N10 million, which was later reduced to N3 million.
“After he paid N2.5 million, the supposed victim was still not released,” Adebisi said.
She explained that upon receiving the complaint, the Command Special Squad immediately deployed human and technical assets to track the alleged kidnappers.
“The supposed victim was eventually released and reunited with her family,” she added.
However, during debriefing, the woman claimed she was abducted by six armed men driving a silver Toyota Venza, taken to their hideout and dispossessed of her iPhone 12 Pro Max.
“She further claimed that the ransom paid by her husband was first credited into her bank account before being handed over to the kidnappers,” Adebisi said.
The police spokesperson noted that investigations uncovered several inconsistencies in the suspect’s account.
She said that on Dec. 3, operatives apprehended the accomplice in Ede, Osun State, and recovered a SIM card used to register the WhatsApp account through which ransom negotiations were conducted.
“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.
“He admitted providing the one-time password (OTP) sent to his line, which enabled her to operate the account,” Adebisi said.
Following the confession, the suspect was confronted and allegedly admitted to faking her own kidnapping to extort money from her husband, who resides in South Africa.
Adebisi said further investigation led to the recovery of the iPhone 12 Pro Max, which the suspect had earlier 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 N380,000 after being warned not to insert any SIM card into it,” she said.
She added that investigations were ongoing and that the suspect and her accomplice would be charged to court at the conclusion of the probe.
Adebisi also said the Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, Mr Olohundare Jimoh, reiterated the command’s commitment to protecting lives and property, while warning the public against false reporting, criminal deception and acts 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: 07061019374, 08065154338, 08063299264 and 08039344870.
