The Nigerian Police has reacted to a report circulating in the media that it arrested a good Samaritan who found and rescued a missing four-year-old girl.
Recall that the report went viral after a social media user and banker, Akinmade Boluwaji took to his social media page to allege that the Nigerian Police operatives arrested a woman identified as Happiness, a member of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Glory Worship Centre, for turning in a missing child near Ifako canal on July 20.
In reaction to the claim made by the social media user, the Police Commissioner, Fatai Owoseni, warned Lagos residents to stop proclaiming acts which could turn peoples back against the security agency.
He said: “I am amazed at the things some people do to gain public sympathy.
“When I invited them, all the parties, it was discovered that the issue was not the way the writer painted it. Even the pastor they came with was begging on his behalf because we could have arrested him for peddling falsehood.
“What actually happened was that the woman, instead of asking around to find out where the little girl came from, she took her to her own house and left her there from that morning till about 9:00 p.m. when she returned from work.
“By that time, they have started looking for the child. She then took her to the church and from there to Alakara Police Station. She never told anyone that she found a little girl and took her to Alakara Police Station.
“Then, after about six days, the woman told someone that she found a little girl and she was taken to Alakara Police Station. By the time, the child’s guardians have received an anonymous message demanding money for her release. .
“So, was the DPO wrong to suspect foul play? Okay, the woman was arrested and the writer contacted an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), as he claimed, who spoke with the DPO and she was granted bail.”