Nigeria comedian Augustine Valentine popularly known as Mc Fine has been arrested by the police in Abuja for spreading fake news.
The Abuja-based comedian who was arrested by the Nigerian police for posting fake stories on Facebook about one Zulai was accused of attempt to kidnap a child. He then posted her pictures as a wanted person.
The middle-aged woman, simply identified as Zulai, was attacked on Wednesday, around Zenith Bank area in Bwari, over the suspicion that she attempted to kidnap a two-year-old male child.
The Policemen, who were quick to intervene, arrested the woman and, during investigation, found out that she was physically and psychologically unstable.
According to the Biodun Makanjuola, Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of the force in Bwari, FCT, Valentine posted a false report on Facebook alleging the apprehension of a female kidnapper.
“After investigation, we found the report to be fake,” he said.
“When she was brought here, I asked my people to first take her to the General Hospital for medicals. They came back with a medical report indicating that she was suffering from depression.
“The report also referred her to Karu Psychiatric Hospital for proper evaluation. Right now, we are preparing to take her there.
“We were still on the matter when I started receiving calls about a post on Facebook claiming that the woman was a kidnapper. The report claimed that her phone had message conversations on how many children to be kidnapped.
“I made efforts and finally discovered who posted the story, brought him here for questioning, and he confessed he only added some of the details to add glamour to the story.”
While expressing displeasure over the incident, the Police cautioned against spreading unverified news, pointing out that such actions could cause negative impact on people involved and result into security breach in the affected community.
“We are working with the affected families to douse the tension. This town can be volatile, so we are not taking anything for granted,” he said.
