Amira Safiyanu, a Twitter user who recently claimed that she was kidnapped alongside 16 others, have admitted that she lied.
On June 14, Ameerah, via her Twitter handle @Ameerah_sufyan, tweeted that she and 16 other persons, including children and pregnant women, were kidnapped from their different homes in the federal capital territory (FCT).
“Please whoever has my WhatsApp number, I sent a broadcast message of my location. We were abducted at gunpoint by [people] with police uniforms and a van from our houses from different parts of Abuja. We’re 17 including 3 pregnant women and two little kids. They didn’t see my phone”,she had written.
In another post published about two hours after the previous one, she said the victims had been divided into separate groups.
The incident had elicited reactions on social media as many Nigerians bemoaned the country’s security challenges.
Reacting to the incident, the FCT police command had said operatives had been deployed to track the victims.
Three days later, precisely on June 17, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command debunked her claim while announcing that she has been found.
The Spokesperson of the Command, DCP Oduniyi Omotayo, had in a statement said “The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command wishes to categorically debunk the viral news of the alleged kidnapping of one Safiyanu Amira and seventeen (17) others who were reportedly abducted at gunpoint by armed men in police uniform on Tuesday, June 14, 2022, at about 1:00 p.m. and to state that Safiyanu Amira is currently safe in police custody.
“While she is currently in the hospital receiving medical attention as demanded by global best practices, the investigation continues, and findings will be communicated subsequently.”
On Monday, Ameerah posted on Twitter that the previous tweet was false alarm.
“Good day all, I would like to formally apologise to the general public, to the whole police department and my friends and family for misleading them with the below tweet, nothing of such happened, and it was all just my delusions and negative thinking.
“I would also like to thank the IG and the CP Babaji Sunday for helping me through this; may God reward them abundantly.
“I intentionally took myself out of our house, went to these locations, entered bushes and dehydrated and starved myself for four days just like that; there was no kidnapping, nothing at all; I truly apologise and please pray for me; I need it”, she wrote on her Twitter handle.