Wikipedia describes a false alarm as a deceptive nuisance alarm and an erroneous report of an emergency, causing unnecessary panic and bringing resources (such as emergency services) to a place where they are not needed. I am not disputing the fact that a false alarm could occur by mistake, which unfortunately on very few occasions can be overlooked. This article emphasizes on the deliberate misdemeanor of raising a false alarm by some despicable individuals.
It seems a lot of individuals have not gotten themselves abreast with the Constitution, to be aware that raising a false alarm is a very punishable offense. In the U.S, a person who knowingly indicates, or circulates a false alarm, is jailed for a felony. Such an individual will be punished by confinement in a state jail for any term of not more than two years or less than 180 days.
In Nigeria, raising a false alarm falls under the category of a strict liability offense. The offender when tried can be punished with up to 6 months imprisonment and a fine by the relevant laws. Just recently, in Nigeria, Lagos precisely, there was a case of false alarm that was raised which attracted the attention of many.
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A twenty years old lady on Twitter named Toyosi, raised an emergency alarm on the app, where she tweeted “I’m being kidnapped guys. I’m being raped. Number 78 bayan street Pako Akoka. Lagos”. This attracted the attention of many Nigerian Twitter users, who out of sheer concern, did not hesitate to contact the security operatives who swung into action and arrived at the location shared online as soon as possible to help rescue the acclaimed visit and also make a possible arrest.
While this was going on, the alleged victim, who happened not to be at the shared location later made a video that she was neither raped nor kidnapped, as she was only doing that to chase clout, and didn’t know that it would escalate into something serious. This act however infuriated Twitter users who didn’t fail to lash at her for such a callous act. She was later arrested by the police who thought that the alarm raised was a genuine one.
After an extensive interrogation and investigation of the incident, it was revealed that the 20 years old Omotoyosi Adesegun is a regular visitor of the address she shared online. The latest development is that Ms. Omotoyosi will be charged with a criminal offense for intentionally misleading the public and security forces by giving false information and causing nuisance and disturbance of the public peace.
She risks getting a jail term of up to 6 months or more. Considering the high level of insecurity that has plagued the country, such a mischievous act needs to be treated by the law followed by punishment, as it is a very sensitive matter. The negative impact of this action is that it has the potential to divert emergency responders away from legitimate emergencies, which could unfortunately lead to loss of life.
Peradventure another case of emergency is raised, there is a tendency that a lot of people might be reluctant to respond because of the false alarm that was earlier raised. The law needs to take its full course on Omotoyosi’s case, to serve as a deterrent to others who might likely want to follow suit, to desist from using sensitive issues to chase clout. It seems a lot of Nigerians are not aware that raising a false alarm is a punishable offense just like the case of Toyosi who obviously had no idea.
The country is currently ravaged with so many insecurity issues, It is ideal that every citizen of the country do not carry out insensitive actions to complicate the already ongoing issues.
