A REPORT circulating across various news platforms and social media channels claims that a 26-year-old man, Ifeanyi Chukwu Joseph, was arrested for allegedly pushing his girlfriend’s sister, 17-year-old Chiamaka Chukwuokore, from a two-story building in Owerri, Imo State.
The claim was published by several news outlets, including The Sun Nigeria and TVC News, featuring an image of the suspect in police custody.
The FactCheckHub deemed it necessary to fact-check the report due to the misstatement regarding the victim’s relationship to the suspect’s girlfriend.
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CLAIM
A viral report claims that a 26-year-old man in Imo State attempted to murder his girlfriend’s sister by pushing her from a two-story building.
FINDINGS
A review of the official press release issued by the Imo State Police Command reveals that media reports mischaracterised the relationship between the victim and the suspect’s girlfriend.
While the headline of the police statement explicitly states: “IMO POLICE COMMAND ARREST 26-YEAR-OLD MAN OVER ALLEGED ATTEMPTED MURDER OF GIRLFRIEND’S NIECE IN OWERRI”, the second paragraph mentioned that the victim was “said to be the sister of his girlfriend.” This phrasing created ambiguity and led several news outlets to report that the victim was the girlfriend’s sister.
According to the statement, the police did not state as an established fact that the victim was the suspect’s girlfriend’s sister. The phrase “said to be the sister of his girlfriend” presented the relationship as an initial report or allegation rather than a confirmed detail. However, the statement does not identify who said so or where the information came from.
To clarify the discrepancy, The FactCheckHub contacted the Imo State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Henry Okoye.
Okoye clarified that the 17-year-old victim is the niece of the suspect’s girlfriend, not her sister. He explained that the suspect’s girlfriend brought the teenager from the village to live with her and the suspect in the apartment. He added that the suspect and his girlfriend were not married but had been living together with the teenager.
Okoye stated that the suspect told police he had accused the teenager of frequently bringing men into the apartment he rented for his girlfriend. According to the PRO, the suspect claimed an altercation broke out between them over the matter, during which he flogged her.
The officer said neighbours heard the commotion and knocked on the apartment door. When they entered, they could not find the teenager inside the house but later spotted her lying on the ground outside after looking through a window.
However, Okoye emphasised that the command does not consider the suspect’s account conclusive, describing it as questionable.
“We are not taking his own account of the incident as the final arbiter because as a matter of fact, his own account is actually fishy. It doesn’t add up,” he said.
VERDICT
The report that the victim is the sister of the suspect’s girlfriend is MISLEADING. While an incident involving the alleged attempted murder of 17-year-old by 26-year-old Ifeanyi Chukwu Joseph did occur in Owerri, official confirmation from the Imo State Police Command establishes that the victim is the girlfriend’s niece, not her sister.
Seasoned writer and literary curator, Zainab Abdulrasaq is a factchecker for The FactCheckHub in an effort to combat information disorder. She can be reached on IG @blackbookishgirl or zabdulrasaq@icirnigeria.org
