A woman who allegedly spread “fake news” about a policeman’s involvement in the abduction and brutal killing of Mrs. Philip Ataga in Kaduna has been arrested.
Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), DCP Frank Mba disclosed this at a news briefing in Abuja on Tuesday.
According to him, the unnamed suspect was arrested for circulating a social media post that a police officer was involved in the kidnap and murder of the doctor’s wife.
He said that the suspect’s “fake” story was capable of damaging the relationship between the police and the public by portraying policemen as criminals.
The Herald recalls Ataga’s wife and her two children were on Jan. 25 abducted from their home at the Juji community in Chikun Local Government Area of the Kaduna State.
The abductors killed a member of a local vigilante group in the area during the operation.
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A week after their abduction, the body of the woman was found before the two children were later released.
Mba said while police were working on the abduction and unfortunate murder of the woman, a damaging story that went viral was posted on social media.
He said the story made a very strong allegation that a policeman was involved in the kidnap and subsequent murder of the doctor’s wife.
“It was a very damaging story and police operatives immediately set out to investigate the source and the origin of the story.
“After days of investigation, the post that went viral was traced to the suspect who is a teacher in Kaduna.
“This is a classical example of fake news and the problem with this kind of fake news is that it can set the people against the police,” he said.
He said the fake news could also damage the relationship between the police and the public.
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According to him, the success of every police agency or department is predicated on the kind of support it receives from the public.
“Fake news of this nature are distractions, the resources that would have been used to investigate important cases are diverted to investigating the source of this kind of story.
“We want to use this opportunity to appeal to the public, particularly the youths, to exercise caution in the use of social media.
“You have to be circumspect before pushing out information, if you are not sure of the authenticity, please don’t push out the information,” he added.
Mba said it was a criminal offence to circulate false information, adding that cyber laws were very clear about the offence.
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