Titilayo Ibrahim, Nigerian businesswoman, has shared a harrowing experience of how she narrowly escaped imprisonment after a SIM card she purchased was linked to a N50 million kidnapping and murder case.
SIM Card
In an interview with BBC Yoruba shared on Facebook, Ibrahim narrated how a routine business transaction quickly turned into a terrifying ordeal.
According to her, the nightmare began on October 16, 2025, when a purported customer contacted her business line to purchase nightwear.
The caller, a woman, claimed her own phone was faulty and that she was using her husband’s device.
After selecting two pieces, the woman asked for directions for pickup. Ibrahim shared the location of her estate junction, but upon arrival, she was met by two men who identified themselves as police officers and immediately arrested her.
The officers accused Ibrahim of being connected to a major kidnapping operation.
They alleged that the phone number she was using had been involved in a January 2024 incident where a N50 million ransom was collected before the victim was brutally murdered.
Ibrahim desperately tried to explain that the number was innocent, stating that she had only purchased the SIM card in April 2025—months after the crime took place—and used it strictly for her MiFi device.
The officers, reportedly led by Inspector Dauda Adamu of the Force Intelligence Department (FID) in Abuja, claimed that one of the phone numbers linked to her National Identification Number (NIN) was tied to the crime.
They took her to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, and she faced intense harassment and the threat of being detained in Akure and transferred to Abuja.
In a bid to clear her name, Ibrahim and the officers visited an Airtel office.
On October 17, 2025, the telecommunications company officially confirmed from their records that the disputed SIM was indeed purchased and activated in April 2025.
“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,” Ibrahim recounted.
Despite the undeniable evidence from the network provider clearing her of any involvement, the police still confiscated her phones, took them to Abuja, and instructed her to report there.
Her revelation has sparked widespread outrage and concern online.
Many Nigerians expressed shock at the incident, pointing out the growing dangers and security risks associated with telecommunication companies recycling inactive phone numbers or the hazards of inadvertently purchasing pre-registered SIM cards.
The incident highlights the terrifying reality of how easily innocent citizens can become entangled in complex criminal investigations.
