The Lagos State Police Command has cautioned residents against a growing trend of staged kidnappings orchestrated to extort ransom from unsuspecting family members and associates.
The warning was issued by the Command’s spokesperson, SP Abimbola Adebisi, during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria.
She disclosed that investigations revealed several viral kidnapping videos and distress messages circulating online were deliberately staged by the alleged victims themselves.
According to the police, the Command has intensified surveillance efforts, particularly on social media platforms, to quickly identify and neutralise fake abduction schemes capable of causing widespread panic.
“The command is also closely monitoring reports on social media and other platforms to promptly verify and address any incidents that may cause public anxiety,” Adebisi said.
“One such case involved a 26-year-old housewife whose supposed abduction set off alarm bells across borders,” she said.
“It was that inconsistency that triggered deeper police scrutiny; a special squad of the Lagos State Police Command was deployed, and what they uncovered was not a hostage situation, but a carefully choreographed scam,” Adebisi added.
“Investigations showed that the scheme was motivated by financial hardship and the husband’s failed attempts to return to the United States,” she said.
Adebisi confirmed that the Commissioner of Police, Mr Olohundare Jimoh, has deployed tactical units and directed divisional police officers to work closely with community leaders to strengthen intelligence sharing and information flow.
Police investigations have shown that a number of reported kidnapping cases were in fact planned by the so-called victims in a bid to defraud their families.
In one instance, a 26-year-old housewife staged her own abduction, triggering panic for her husband based in South Africa, who later paid a ransom.
The initial demand of N10 million was negotiated down to N2.5 million before the scam was uncovered. Police said the woman collaborated with an accomplice in Osun State, who supplied a SIM card used to make ransom demands via WhatsApp. She later confessed and admitted that the iPhone she claimed was stolen during the incident had already been sold. The police noted that the case was not isolated, as similar patterns have been identified across the state.
Further investigations uncovered additional fake kidnapping cases involving young people and couples seeking to extort money from relatives.
In one case, five suspects aged between 15 and 20 were arrested over a staged abduction involving a 15-year-old boy. The boy, with the help of four friends, faked his kidnapping in the Ago Palace area, prompting his mother to pay N1.7 million as ransom. Detectives traced the payment through a Point of Sale terminal, which led to the arrest of the suspects. In another incident, a couple staged the wife’s kidnapping in an attempt to extort N10 million, a plot that was later uncovered at a school in the Cappa area. Both cases were initially reported as genuine missing person incidents, causing public alarm before police investigations exposed the scams.
The police noted that the rise in staged kidnappings represents a worrying dimension of Nigeria’s broader kidnapping challenge.
According to the Command, such fake abductions waste critical police resources, delay responses to genuine emergencies, and heighten public fear through viral videos and social media posts.
Families, especially those with relatives abroad, are increasingly vulnerable to emotional and financial exploitation, while the involvement of alleged victims complicates investigations and undermines public confidence in legitimate security alerts.
The Lagos State Police Command urged residents to exercise caution and verify kidnapping claims before making payments or spreading distress messages.
Families were advised to establish private verification codes and maintain regular communication with loved ones. The public was also warned against acting on unverified distress messages, noting that filing false kidnapping reports is a criminal offence with legal consequences.
Residents were encouraged to report suspicious activities through the Command’s hotlines: 07061019374, 08065154338, 08063299264, and 08039344870.
Adebisi stressed that security is a collective responsibility and called on citizens to support law enforcement agencies in addressing both conventional and emerging criminal tactics.
