A Nigerian businesswoman, Titilayo Ibrahim, has shared how she was nearly jailed after being linked to a kidnapping case involving a ₦50 million ransom.
In an interview with BBC Yoruba shared on Facebook on Monday, Ibrahim explained how a routine business transaction led to her arrest.
According to her, the incident began on October 16, 2025, when a woman contacted her business line to order nightwear. The caller selected two items and said she was using her husband’s phone because hers was faulty. She later asked for a pickup location, and Ibrahim sent her estate junction.
However, when the customer arrived, two men approached her, identified themselves as police officers, and arrested her. They accused her of using a SIM card linked to a kidnapping and murder case.
“It happened that on October 16, 2025, a number texted my business line asking for nightwear. She picked two and said she was using her husband’s phone because hers was faulty. Later, they said they would come pick it up, so I gave them my estate junction location,” she said in Yoruba.
Ibrahim said she tried to explain that the SIM card was newly purchased and used only for her MiFi device, but the officers insisted she had been under surveillance. They alleged that the number had been used to demand a ₦50 million ransom and that the victim was later killed.
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“They claimed the line was used for kidnapping, ₦50m ransom was collected, and the victim was still killed. I told them I bought the SIM in April 2025, while the incident happened in January 2024.”
She added that even after visiting the network provider’s office, where records confirmed she bought the SIM in April 2025, the officers continued to accuse her.
“Even after confirming it at the network office, they still didn’t believe me. They harassed me and almost sent me to prison for what I know nothing about,” she concluded.
The case has drawn reactions online, with many Nigerians warning about the risks of pre-registered SIM cards and raising concerns about wrongful arrests.
Earlier reports in November 2025 stated that Ibrahim, who was serving in Akure at the time, was taken to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department over a phone number linked to her National Identification Number (NIN).
She said the officers, led by Inspector Dauda Adamu of the Force Intelligence Department, Abuja, claimed that one of the numbers connected to her NIN was used in the crime.
“The officers, led by Inspector Dauda Adamu of the FID, Abuja, alleged that one of the phone numbers connected to my National Identification Number was involved in the crime.
“However, I had purchased my Airtel SIM on April 15, 2025, a fact later confirmed by Airtel’s official records. Despite this evidence, I was threatened with being taken to Abuja and detained overnight in Akure.
“On October 17, 2025, Airtel officially confirmed that the disputed SIM was indeed bought and activated in April 2025, fully clearing me. Yet, the police still took my phones to Abuja and instructed me to report there.”