Delta State Commissioner of Police Olufemi Abaniwonda has lamented that mischievous social media influencers are raising false alarms over the security situation in the state.
He gave the assurance on Wednesday while speaking as a guest on Orientation Panorama on Delta Radio 97.9 FM, noting that they are painting a negative picture of security breaches in the state.
According to him, Delta remained one of the safest states in Nigeria but one of the challenges the command is having while policing the state is the regular false insecurity alarms by some mischievous social media influencers and bloggers.
The Commissioner of Police, represented by the command’s Police Public Relations Officer, SP Bright Edafe, noted that these ‘professional alarmists’ are always escalating minor security breaches and mischievously painting a negative picture of the security situation in the state.
While saying the trend is unacceptable, he said that his officers and men will continue to confront security breaches, respond swiftly to distress calls, and protect life and property in the state.
“Two days ago, the social media trended a false report that policemen in Ughelli shot a woman in the leg while they were protesting. It turned out to be false. This is obviously how some persons spread fake news about the security situation in Delta State.
“There was this incident of a member of a local vigilante group who claimed that 14 persons were killed in his community, and we demanded the names and identities of the victims but he could not provide any.
“And if not for the synergy or relationship that we maintain with vigilante groups, he would have been detained and prosecuted for giving false information to the police. Cases of kidnapping have been reduced to the barest minimum, except for a few cases under investigation,” he said.
