TRENDING: Lady who allegedly raised false kidnap, rape alarm in police custody

On Thursday morning, at 7:15 a.m., the lady had in a now-deleted post, tweeted, “I’m being kidnapped guys, I’m being raped.”

A lady identified as Toyosi on Thursday “voluntarily presented” herself at a police station after raising an alarm on social media that some men had kidnapped and raped her.

Benjamin Hundeyin, the police spokesperson in Lagos, said via his Twitter handle that the lady is in their custody and is being questioned.

On Thursday, at 7:15 a.m., the lady had in a now-deleted post, tweeted, “I’m being kidnapped guys, I’m being raped.”

She also stated the location where her purported assailants held her against her will.

Some minutes later, she wrote again, “I tweeted that I was been kidnapped and raped. It is false. I’m so sorry for this. Pls, stop calling and threatening the numbers.”

She also did a video assuring the public of her safety, adding that “I’m not making this video under duress. I’m very okay, I’m in my house.”

Following her post, the police were alerted and they traced the address she posted to Akoka, an area of Lagos.

“We have been at the location for over thirty minutes now. Well-meaning Nigerians have commendably shown concern. We will get to the roots of this,” Mr Hundeyin posted at 9:26 a.m.

Contacted, the police spokesperson said that Ms Toyosi is at the police division in Bariga.

‘Clout chaser’

Her tweets had garnered over 3,000 engagements on Twitter and topped the microblogging trend list.

While she has suddenly become popular, many people have described her as a “clout chaser” and accused her of making a false alarm.

Police in Lagos visit lady following kidnap, rape alarm on social media

But Mr Hundeyin said he can’t confirm yet if she raised a false alarm. He, however, said that he would send an update after questioning her.

Alabi Lawrence, @_thelawrenz said, “It’s people like Toyosi that made people feel late Dr Chinelo was chasing clout when she asked for prayers. Animal!”

Mr Lawrence’s tweet was about the late Chinelo Megafu, the doctor who was fatally shot aboard the Kaduna-Abuja train.

Ms Megafu had tweeted “I’m on the train. I have been shot. Please pray for me,” shortly before her death. Her tweet was one of the first messages from victims that conveyed the gravity of their situation. Several social media users had, however, accused her of raising a false alarm and wondered how someone who was shot would be on Twitter.

Everest, @nobieverest lamented that “Innocent guys have been picked up and arrested because of clout,” adding that she needs to dance to her music.

 

Emerald, @madamcondensed also lent her voice to the tweet.

“When Dr Chinelo tweeted, people called it clout, she died.

We resorted to doing better and prioritising complaints.

“Toyosi tweeted about being raped & kidnapped, we all took action only to find out its clout. From Bariga police station to Yabaleft then 2months in kirikiri.

According to Otunba, @ManLikeIcey, “Toyosi’s elder brother said she used the rape accusation to chase clout but didn’t know it’ll escalate to this, he’s so mad at her.”