A teenage housemaid, Margaret Adiya Ikumu, who posted fake pictures of her purported death on Facebook, yesterday 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.
19 year old Ikumu, who was a maid in an estate in Ajah, said both her mother and uncle abandoned her when her father died but later turned around to be demanding money from her.
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Bala Elkana, said that on May 15, 2020, the Command received a petition signed by one Tony Iji, on behalf of the Ikumu family members, who hail from Oni, Oju Local Government, Benue State.
Elkana said the petitioners stated that their attention had been drawn to a post on Facebook stating that the said Margaret Adiya Ikumu had died a few days ago and was secretly buried by her two friends, Marvelous Mary and Nneka Buddy, in Ajah.
The family members further stated that they were able to establish contact with the said friends, who confirmed to them that their daughter had died.
The police spokesman was quoted saying, “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.
