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A Magistrate Court in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory has granted Ameerah Sufyan, who raised a false alarm that she had been kidnapped, bail on medical grounds.
Sufyan had raised the alarm via her Twitter handle on June 14 that she had been kidnapped alongside 16 people which included three pregnant women and two children.
The alarm turned out to be false after she was recovered by the Police, with Sufyan stating that she “went to these locations, entered bushes and dehydrated and starved myself for four days just like that, there was no kidnapping”.
The Presiding Judge, Chukwuemeka Nweke, granted Sufyan bail on three conditions, which bordered on the report by the prosecution counsel, JCA Idachaba, which revealed that she suffered from mental health problems.
The Judge ruled that Sufyan was not in her right state of mind when she raised the false alarm and was granted conditional bail on the grounds that she provided a surety, in the person of her father, and also undergo therapy.
She was also instructed to report to a Deputy Commissioner of Police at the Force Headquarters for 12 months and take her medication.
“Going by the probation report that she was not in a proper mental state of mind when she committed the offence, she is hereby discharged with some conditions.
“The defendant must be on probation for a period of 12 calendar months.
“Secondly, the defendant would be released to one surety and assigned to a probation officer, DCP Hauwa Ibrahim, to monitor her.
“Thirdly, she must report monthly to the Police Head Quarters, Abuja for proper assessment,” Nweke stated.
Idachaba had earlier told the court that on June 14, the complainant, Imam Sufiyan Adam, of Apo Resettlement, Abuja, reported the matter at the Apo police station.
He told the court that the matter was later transferred to the Criminal Investigative Department, CID, FCT Police Command, Abuja.
Idachaba further alleged that on the same date, the defendant criminally raised a false alarm on her Twitter handle, via voice note in a WhatsApp broadcast.
He told the court that the defendant also alleged that the kidnappers headed towards the forest through Jos and Nasarawa State highway.
The prosecution counsel however stated that during police investigation, the defendant was traced to Marigold Hospital Critical Care Centre, Surulere in Lagos.
Idachaba told the court that the investigation revealed that Sufyan had planned and carried out self-kidnap to raise a false alarm and thereby mislead the public.
He said the offence contravenes the provisions of Section 140 of the Penal Code Law.
The prosecution counsel at this point applied that based on the medical report, the defendant be placed on probation.
Recall that after terrorists attacked the Abuja-Kaduna train on March 28, 2022, a medical doctor, Chinelo Megafu, had raised the alarm via her Twitter handle that she had been shot which many thought was a false alarm only for Chinelo’s lifeless body to be circulated on social media.
