The Kaduna State Police Command and the family of Dr Philip Ataga, have dismissed a social media report on the involvement of a police officer in the kidnapping and killing of Ataga’s wife in Kaduna.
Dr Ataga told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Kaduna that the social media report that his daughter recognised one of the killers of her mother as a police officer, was absolutely false.
The police, in a statement by the Command Public Relations Officer, ASP Mohammed Jalige, also dismissed the report as fake.
“The Command wishes to debunk the publication in its totality as fake, fictitious, maliciously fabricated to tarnish the image of the force.
“To set the record straight, there is no police officer from the command or anywhere in the country that is involved in the unfortunate incident that led to the killing of Mrs Ataga.
He explained that the family of Ataga had already debunked the news.
According to him, the command on receipt of the news, investigated the allegation and found out that it was nothing more than malicious blackmail by the writer whose motives was unknown.
“This unprofessional attitude is capable of causing mistrust between the police and members of the general public.
“The Commissioner of Police, Umar Muri is calling on the general public to disregard fake news and urged media outlets to verify any source of security report from the command’s PPRO before publication.
“The command will not hesitate in dealing decisively with any persons who engages in such malicious action according to the laws of the land.”