|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Claim: A Facebook user claimed some motorbike riders killed ten police officers.
Verdict: False. The spokesperson of the Liberia National Police says the information is untrue.
Full Text
Following the death of a motorcycle rider on February 19 in Monrovia, the government of Liberia reported that some bike riders went on a rampage and destroyed public facilities.
The government said that the booths which host officers of the Liberia National Police (LNP) in Freeport, Central Monrovia, and by Boulevard got vandalised. This led to a temporary no-go zone ban for commercial bike riders from the affected areas.
In his post on February 21, a Facebook user named Bonah Yewolo claimed that some bike riders believed to be supporters of the former ruling party beat and “killed ten police officers.”
He added that the riders took the dead bodies of the officers to the headquarters of the LNP.
A screenshot of the post.
Given the security nature of the post, DUBAWA decided to verify and authenticate the information shared.
Verification
For a case as serious as this, which has allegedly claimed the lives of ten police officers, the issue would have been reported in the media, but checks by this reporter showed there were no such reports of the death of 10 police officers.
DUBAWA then contacted the spokesperson of the Liberia National Police, Cecelia Clarke, for authentication.
In response, Madam Clarke said the information was not true. She stated that the rumour is a disinformation meant to instil fear in the public.
She added that it would not have been a secret if such a thing had happened.
“You know what it means to kill even one police officer and bring the body to the police headquarters,” Clarke questioned. “So the information is unfounded, she stressed.”
She, however, urged the public to desist from spreading such information.
Conclusion
False. Motorbike riders did not kill 10 officers of the Liberia National Police.
