One Wakilu Ogundairo has been arrested by the police for raising the alarm that Boko Haram terrorists invaded Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State.
Ogundairo was said to have made a voice Whatsapp message, saying Boko Haram terrorists had invaded “Imosan Ijebu with a cache of arms.”
The Ogun State police spokesman, Abimbola Oyeyemi, said the man circulated the voice note on social media, thereby causing panic in the mind of law-abiding citizens.
Oyeyemi said the suspect was arrested when the voice note went viral and people started calling the command’s emergency number, expressing concern over the safety of their loved ones in Ijebu-Ode and Ogun State in general.
The State Commissioner of Police, Lanre Bankole, was said to have quickly directed the DPO Obalende division to move into the area and find out the authenticity of the said WhatsApp voice note.
Oyeyemi said:
“In compliance with the CP’S order, the DPO of Obalende division, SP Salami Murphy, moved into the area for a thorough investigation. In the course of the investigation, it was discovered that the only people in that location were farm laborers from Benue State who are carrying out their legitimate business devoid of any form of violence.
“Having found out that the viral voice note was a false alarm, the DPO and his detectives embarked on a technical investigation which eventually led them to the hideout of the man behind it.
“He was subsequently arrested and taken into custody. On interrogation, he confessed that he only made the voice note to scare members of the public and that there is no invasion anywhere,”
Meanwhile, CP Lanre Bankole has ordered a thorough investigation into the past activities of the suspect, with the view to charging him to court as soon as possible.
