Police arrested 19-Year-Old Housemaid who Fakes Own Death In Lagos To Avoid Financial Pressure From Her Mother

….The girl told the police that she was compelled to take such a decision to keep her mother and uncle away from putting financial pressure on her.

A teenage girl, Margaret Ikumu, 19, of Oni community in Oju Local Government Area of Benue, has faked her own death on social media to avoid financial pressure from her mother.

A statement signed by DSP Bala Elkana, the Police Public Relations Officer in Lagos State, made this known on Sunday. Elkana said that Ikumu, through her Facebook account, reported to have died a few days ago and was secretly buried by her two friends, Marvelous Mary and Nneka Buddy, at Ajah area.

“The family of the fake deceased further stated that they were able to establish contact with the said friends who confirmed to them that their daughter is dead.

“To make them believe that the girl is dead, they sent WhatsApp chats to a member of the girl’s family with picture of a casket showing that the girl is buried.

“The family also got in touch with a man on phone who claimed to be her boyfriend. He corroborated the claim that she is dead,” he said.

Elkana said that the girl was eventually found by the Police to be alive and was working as a housemaid in an estate at Ajah.

“When her employer saw the report of her purported death, they quickly informed the Police and she was brought to Ajah Police Station.

“In her statement, she (Ikumu) confessed to have created the Facebook account and posted her obituary with intent to keep her family away from her.

“She said that her mother was putting financial pressure on her by constantly demanding that she sends money to her,” he said.

Elkana said that the girl was apparently bitter with her mother and uncles over their inability to sponsor her education after the death of her father.

He said that Ikumu came to Lagos to work with a view to saving some money and returning to school.

“The friends said they had been instructed by Margaret not to allow members of her family know anything about her death, and that they were authorised by the deceased person to secretly bury her. 

“To make them believe that the girl was truly dead, they sent WhatsApp chats to a member of the girl’s family, with picture of a casket showing that the girl had been buried.

“The known phone number of the girl was permanently switched off. The family also got in touch with a man on phone, who claimed to be her boyfriend. He corroborated the claim that she was dead.

“The girl was eventually found by the police to be alive and working as a housemaid in an estate at Ajah. When her employer saw the report of her purported death, they quickly informed the police and she was brought to the Ajah police station.”

19-year-old Ikumu told the police that she was compelled to take such a decision to keep her mother and uncle away from putting financial pressure on her.

“In her statement, she confessed to have created the Facebook account and posted her obituary with intent to keep her family away from her. She said her mother was putting financial pressure on her, constantly demanding that she sends money to her. 

“The girl is apparently bitter with her mother and uncles over their inability to sponsor her education after the death of her father. Her sojourn to Lagos is to work, save some money and return to school.

“She admitted using the photograph of her employer’s daughter, Dr Nimechi Ugorji, without her knowledge, as her profile photo in the fictitious Facebook account she created. 

“But her uncle, on seeing the obituary, downloaded the profile picture and reposted it, calling on members of the public who knew the person on the photograph to report to the nearest police station. Investigation is ongoing.”

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