The Edo State Police Command has arrested a 24-year-old content creator, Osarobo Omoyemen, popularly known on TikTok as “Madam Oil Rice,” over an allegedly false and inciting social media post aimed at discrediting the police, Nigerian Tribune reports.
In a statement issued yesterday, the Command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Moses Yamu, said the content shared by Omoyemen was capable of inciting hostility and causing unnecessary tension within the state.
According to Yamu, the suspect recently posted a video on TikTok claiming she was kidnapped along Upper Sakponba Road in Benin City, and later “rescued” by police officers who allegedly detained her at Akpata Police Station and collected ₦10,000 as bail.
The police spokesperson said the Command immediately launched an investigation into the allegations and discovered that the entire story was fabricated.
“During interrogation, the 24-year-old female suspect confessed that she staged the incident solely to generate online content and attract followers to her TikTok page,” Yamu stated.
He added that investigators also uncovered that Omoyemen had deleted an earlier video in which an accomplice in the background appealed to viewers to follow her page, exposing the motive behind the false alarm.
“The content was not only misleading but capable of inciting hostility against the Police and triggering unnecessary tension within the state,” he said.
Yamu disclosed that the suspect has already been charged in court, while efforts are ongoing to arrest her accomplices so they can face the full weight of the law.
He stressed that the arrest and prosecution of Madam Oil Rice should serve as a deterrent to others who may attempt to misuse social media to create panic or disturb public peace.
The PPRO urged residents to verify information before sharing and to refrain from acts that could mislead the public or undermine the efforts of security agencies.
