The Edo State Police Command has arrested and arraigned a 24-year-old woman, Osarobo Omoyemen, after investigators determined that she fabricated her own kidnapping in a TikTok video.
Omoyemen had alleged that she was abducted along Upper Sakponba Road in Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area and later freed by the police.
She further claimed she was held at Akpata Police Station and forced to pay ₦10,000 before being released.
However, Police spokesperson Moses Yamu said the investigation revealed the allegations were false, stating that the suspect orchestrated the stunt to gain attention on social media.
“During interrogation, Omoyemen confessed that she staged the incident solely to generate online content and attract followers to her TikTok page,” he said.
Yamu added that investigators traced an earlier deleted video in which a voice in the background urged viewers to follow her page, suggesting coordination with others.
He said the content was “capable of inciting hostility against the Police and triggering unnecessary tension within the state.”
The Police said efforts are underway to locate her accomplices. Omoyemen has been charged in court on allegations of circulating false information.
“It was also discovered that she deleted an earlier video in which an accomplice in the background was appealing to viewers to follow her page, clearly exposing the motive behind the false alarm,” the police said. “The content was not only misleading but capable of inciting hostility against the Police and triggering unnecessary tension within the state.
“Efforts are ongoing to arrest her accomplices to ensure they face the full weight of the law. This action is intended to serve as a deterrent to others who may attempt to misuse social media to create panic or disrupt public peace.”
