Lagos Police Bust Fake Kidnapping Scams on Social Media

When a husband in South Africa received frantic reports that his wife had been kidnapped in Lagos, he did what any loving spouse would do. He negotiated a ransom down from N10 million to N2.5 million and paid it, hoping to save her life.

But she was never in danger. The Lagos State Police Command discovered his wife had staged the entire kidnapping with an accomplice, even selling the iPhone she claimed was stolen during the "abduction."

This wasn't an isolated incident. Police spokesperson SP Abimbola Adebisi revealed the command has uncovered a disturbing wave of fake kidnappings across Lagos, with scammers using social media videos to make their schemes look terrifyingly real.

In one case, a 15-year-old boy recruited four friends to stage his own kidnapping in the Ago Palace area. They filmed the "abduction" in a friend's room and sent it to his mother, who paid N1.7 million before detectives traced the transaction through a POS terminal.

Another couple faked the wife's kidnapping to extort N10 million from relatives and friends. Security personnel at a school in Cappa grew suspicious of their behavior and alerted authorities. The 19-year-old wife later admitted she was just "acting" to help her husband cope with frustrations over failed travel plans to the United States.

The Bright Side

Commissioner of Police Olohundare Jimoh responded by deploying Tactical Squads and anti-crime units across Lagos, while Area Commanders and Divisional Police Officers now work directly with community leaders to improve information sharing. The command is actively monitoring social media platforms to verify distress videos before they trigger unnecessary panic and payments.

The police are also educating families on practical safety measures. Adebisi recommends establishing internal verification codes with loved ones and maintaining regular communication so everyone can quickly confirm if a distress call is legitimate.

These busts show how law enforcement is adapting to modern scams that prey on our deepest fears. By combining technology tracking with community partnerships, Lagos police are protecting both bank accounts and the genuine trust families need when real emergencies happen.

The message to scammers is clear: staging a kidnapping diverts critical security resources from actual crimes and victims who desperately need help. For families, the advice is simple: verify before you transfer, establish code words, and report suspicious activities to the nearest police station.

Lagos is proving that even sophisticated digital scams can be unraveled when police use smart investigation techniques and communities stay alert.