Report dispatch rider in viral video kidnapped child false – Lagos police

By our reporter| The Lagos state police command on Monday refuted the widely circulated report that Williams Tadule, a dispatch rider kidnapped a 10-month-old child inside a delivery box in the Sangotedo area of Lagos.

An undated video where a dispatch rider allegedly kidnapped a child in his delivery box was circulated on social media last Saturday.

But in an update on Monday, the Lagos state police command spokesperson, Adekunle Ajisebutu, said the mother of the baby, Lovina Bitrus, disclosed that the dispatch rider carried the child on his motorbike with her consent.

According to him, the mother allowed the rider to carry the child to pacify him for crying, and that the baby was not found inside a delivery box as alleged by the mob.

Ajisebutu said, “In compliance with the directive, investigation was initiated which led to the discovery of the scene. Upon further investigation, it was discovered that the child was not stolen after all and that he was not kept in the courier box as alleged by the mob.”

“The child’s mother, Lovina Bitrus, was contacted. It was then revealed that the child was actually taken away and put on the dispatch motorbike by the rider with the consent of his mother.

“According to the mother, the 10-month-old baby is fond of the rider who is a relative, a neighbour and was crying uncontrollably when he (rider) wanted to go pick up something in the neighbourhood. To pacify the baby, his mother allowed him to go with the rider.

“Passersby who saw the child with the rider along Sangotedo area, Ajah on the said day, became suspicious and concluded that the child might have been stolen, raised the alarm which attracted a mob. The mob subsequently pounced on the rider, beating him without finding out the truth.”