19th April, 2023
One Uzuokwu Solomon will be arraigned today, Wednesday at a Magistrate Court in Lagos for making a hoax call about a fire incident in his estate in Ajah area of the state to the Lagos Fire Service.
Solomon reportedly called the called the emergency line of the Fire Service on Friday, April 14, 2023, at 5:35 pm from Harmony Estate in the Ajah area of the state and reported a fire emergency which was later discovered to be false, Deputy Director, Public Affairs of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Ololade Agboola, said in a statement on Tuesday night.
However, the false call led to the activation of emergency processes and dispatch of the fire trucks from Lekki Phase II Fire service station to the Estate where it was discovered that the call was a hoax. Investigation of the source of the call eventually led to the arrest of Solomon, the statement indicated.
“On arrival, it was discovered that there was no fire incident in the estate.
“Because of the frequency of such calls in the past, the Estate security helped in the investigation which led to the arrest of the notorious false caller.
“Consequently, the culprit who had been arrested is scheduled to be arraigned before a court of competent jurisdiction at Ogba Magistrate on the 19th of April, 2023 by 9.00am.
The Director Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Mrs Margaret Adeseye, according to the statement expressed her delight in the arrest of the culprit.
She also warned that making malicious false calls to the emergency services is punishable under the Lagos State laws.
Ololade also noted that false calls to the fire service have been on the increase in the last six months.
The Fire Service Chief noted that the offence was punishable under the Lagos State Fire Service law and Command and Control Centre law 2013.
According to her, the arrest and consequent arraignment of Solomon will serve as a deterrent for other misguided citizens who are in the habit of making false calls and misleading emergency responders.
It read in part,