The Lagos State Police Command has dismissed as false a recent newspaper report claiming that hundreds of suspected Boko Haram members were apprehended across the state.
This clarification was issued by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, in a statement on Friday in Lagos.
According to Hundeyin, the Lagos state police Commissioner , CP Olohundare Jimoh, immediately ordered an investigation after the publication surfaced on April 17, 2025.
“The outcome of the investigation reveals that there is nowhere throughout Lagos State that the group mentioned in the report – Boko Haram – were seen or sighted or arrested,” he stated.
He added that checks with residents, trailer park leaders, operators, and drivers in the areas mentioned in the report confirmed that there were no sightings or arrests related to the terrorist group.
“Furthermore, in the trailer park communities mentioned, the leaders, operators, and drivers in the indicated places in the report clarified to the police that there were no such elements of Boko Haram seen or arrested in those localities,” he said.
To further verify the claim, the command deployed detectives from the State Intelligence Department (SID), surveillance operatives, and other tactical units to the reported areas.
“No one confirmed the presence or arrest of such group members as reported in the write-up throughout Lagos State,” Hundeyin stressed.
Describing the report as “false, malicious, and ill-intended to cause fear and apprehension in the minds of the public,” the spokesperson urged Lagosians to disregard it completely.
“Residents are enjoined to disregard and discountenance the write-up as untrue and a figment of the imagination of the writer which was very unfortunate and despicable and should be outrightly ignored,” he said.
He also cautioned media organizations against promoting unverified claims that could incite panic or disrupt the peace in the state.
“The writer of the story is advised to verify facts and truth of any information before going to the press,” Hundeyin said.
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Assuring residents of their safety, he reiterated the command’s commitment to protecting lives and property.
“Members of the public are encouraged by the Commissioner of Police to go about their duties and other means of livelihood without fear or apprehension,” he said.
He further urged the public to report suspicious activities to the nearest police station or contact the Lagos State Police Control Room via 08063299264.
