Immigration Officer Pays ₦2.5m Ransom Before Wife’s Rescue

A joint operation by the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and the Police on Tuesday night rescued Mrs. Ladi Abel, the 45-year-old wife of a senior Immigration officer, who was abducted along the Lagos–Badagry Expressway while heading to the Trade Fair Complex.

Confirming the incident, Mr. Isaac Elijah, Public Relations Officer of the NIS, Seme Border Command, said the rescue took place around 11:45 p.m. at a swampy area on Ogunleye Street, Ibereko.

“The victim was rescued after the kidnappers abandoned their hideout when they realised security operatives were closing in,” Elijah explained. “It took about 20 Immigration officers, 25 Police personnel, and members of the Ibereko community to locate and free her.”

He added that the operation was led by the Divisional Police Officer of Badagry Police Station, SP Folajimi Akosile. However, no arrests were made as the suspects fled before the team arrived.

The victim’s husband, Abel Mada, revealed he had already paid ₦2.5 million in ransom before learning of his wife’s rescue.
“They demanded ₦3 million. I first sent ₦500,000 in the afternoon and ₦2 million later in the evening. I was still trying to raise the remaining ₦500,000 when I got the call that she had been rescued,” he recounted.

Their daughter, Miss Naomi Abel, said her mother was kidnapped at Torikoh Bus Stop by abductors operating in two commercial buses.
“They sprayed a white substance that made passengers unconscious and took about 15 people to their hideout in Ibereko. My mother said some of those held with her seemed to be working with the kidnappers,” she explained.

Naomi expressed gratitude to the Police, Immigration officers, and members of the Ibereko community for their swift action, saying the timely rescue spared her family from further financial and emotional distress.