Edo Police Arraign Content Creator for Staging Kidnapping for Online Clout
BENIN CITY – The Edo State Police Command has arrested and arraigned a 24-year-old social media content creator, Osarobo Omoyemen, popularly known online as “Madam Oil Rice,” for fabricating a kidnapping story to generate content for her TikTok page.
The arrest follows an investigation launched by the police after a video circulated on social media in which Omoyemen claimed she was kidnapped along Upper Sakponba Road in Benin City. In her false narrative, she alleged that police operatives later rescued her, only to detain her at Akpata Police Station and collect N10,000 as bail.
In a statement released on Saturday by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Moses Yamu, the police revealed that their findings showed the story was “completely fabricated and deliberate.”
“During interrogation, the suspect confessed that she staged the incident solely to generate online content and attract followers to her TikTok page,” the statement read.
The police investigation also uncovered that the content creator had deleted an earlier video which exposed the motive, as an accomplice could be heard in the background appealing to viewers to follow her page.
The Command condemned the act, stating that the false claim was not only misleading but also capable of inciting public hostility against the police and creating unnecessary tension within the state.
“The suspect has been arrested and charged to court on 20th November, 2024, for prosecution,” the PPRO confirmed, adding that efforts are ongoing to arrest her accomplices.
The police warned the public against the creation and circulation of fake news, advising individuals to verify information before sharing and to refrain from acts that could mislead the public or undermine security efforts.
