THE Enugu State police command has debunked a video circulating on social media about a kidnap, which was alleged to have occurred along the Enugu-Ugwogo highway.
The command’s public relations officer, Daniel Ndukwe, in a statement he issued on Saturday, June 24 described the video as “misleading” and “untrue.”
Ndukwe said, “There was no such serial or repeated incident of kidnapping on the same day as reported, or shooting and chaotic incident as relayed in the video at the mentioned location or any other part of the state.”
The video, which went viral on social media recently, showed a group of people running into the bush at the sound of gunshots.
Captions accompanying the video suggested that three kidnap cases occurred along the route on the same day. Other Twitter users who shared the video called on the state governor to address the issue, or resign.
Ndukwe admitted in the statement that although there had been cases of abductions along the route, the incident in the video did not occur within the state.
“As a matter of fact, forensic analysis of the video indicates that it did not happen anywhere in the country, let alone in Enugu State. In the same vein, the command sees the unverified and unfounded report of repeated kidnapping incidents on the same day as a misleading and mischievous act of misinformation, aimed at creating panic in the state,” he noted.
He added that necessary measures were being put in place to address the insecurity, adding that sensationalisation of the situation would cause more harm than good.
However, the state’s Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Ammani, has deployed security operatives to the said area.
Residents of areas prone to abductions and other criminal activities were urged to report such cases to the nearest police station, or call the command’s emergency hotlines on 08032003702, 08075380883, 08086671202 or 08098880172, or send an email to [email protected].
Security in Enugu state has been a cause of concern recently following many cases of abduction recorded in different communities.
On the same day that Ndukwe issued the statement, Ohanaeze condemned the activities of kidnappers in the state despite the presence of military and police checkpoints on the roads.
In January, six residents were abducted within a week in the Ikem community in Isi-Uzo Local Government Area.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via [email protected] or @ije_le on Twitter.