Woman Recounts Ordeal After SIM Card Linked to ₦50m Kidnapping Case

By Abah Margaret

A Nigerian businesswoman, Titilayo Ibrahim, has narrated her harrowing experience after she was wrongly linked to a kidnapping case involving a ₦50 million ransom, an incident that nearly led to her imprisonment.

Ibrahim shared her story in an interview with BBC Yoruba, revealing how a routine business transaction turned into a distressing encounter with law enforcement.

According to her, the incident began on October 16, 2025, when a woman contacted her business line to purchase nightwear. The caller selected two items and claimed she was using her husband’s phone due to a faulty device. Arrangements were made for pickup, and Ibrahim provided the location of her estate junction.

However, events took a dramatic turn when, upon arrival for the supposed transaction, two men approached her, identified themselves as police officers, and immediately arrested her. She was accused of using a SIM card allegedly linked to a kidnapping and murder case.

“They said the line was used to demand a ₦50 million ransom and that the victim was eventually killed,” Ibrahim recounted.

She maintained her innocence, explaining that the SIM card in question was newly purchased in April 2025 and used solely for her MiFi device. She noted that the alleged crime had occurred in January 2024—months before she acquired the line.

Despite verification from a network provider confirming the purchase and activation date of the SIM, Ibrahim alleged that the officers continued to harass and intimidate her.

“Even after confirming it at the network office, they still didn’t believe me. I was harassed and almost sent to prison for what I know nothing about,” she said.

Further details revealed that the case was handled by officers from the Force Intelligence Department (FID), Abuja, led by Inspector Dauda Adamu, who reportedly insisted that a phone number linked to Ibrahim’s National Identification Number (NIN) was connected to the crime.

Ibrahim explained that although Airtel later confirmed through official records that the SIM card was registered and activated in April 2025—effectively clearing her—the authorities still confiscated her phones and directed her to report to Abuja.

The incident has since sparked widespread reactions online, with many Nigerians expressing concern over the risks associated with pre-registered SIM cards and the possibility of innocent individuals being wrongfully implicated in criminal investigations.

Observers have called for stricter regulation of SIM registration processes and improved investigative procedures to prevent similar occurrences.