By Izunna Okafor, Awka
A social media user and self-acclaimed content creator with the page name Ada Ikem Isiuzo is currently under fire for the video she recently released on the social media about kidnapping.
Isiuzo, over the weekend, released a video that has currently gone viral on social, portraying her to be a suspected kidnapper arrested by local security operatives for kidnapping and selling children to “rich men”.
In the three-minute-one-second video, Isiuzo, who identified herself as Maria, was seen being interrogated over a little boy she purportedly kidnapped and hid inside a sack bag with intention of going to sell him to the tune of N300,000, as she claimed in the video.
During the “interrogation” by the faceless security operatives, Isiuzo, in the video, claimed to be a native of Nteje community in Oyi Local Government Area of Anambra State, and further claimed that she kidnapped the little boy from Abakaliki in Ebonyi State.
While also claiming to be a Woman Leader and a serial kidnapper from Nteje, she further pleaded with the purported security officials to accept monetary and forgive her for kidnapping, assuring that she would not kidnap again after that.
Watch the video below:
However, the video, which has been described as portraying negative impression about Nteje community, also triggered off a chain of reactions on social media, especially from people of Nteje who could not identify the lady as an indigene of the community.
Consequent upon that, therefore, few hours after these reactions sparked off, another video surfaced online from the same lady, where she was claiming that she was content creator, and that the earlier video where she claimed to a be a serial kidnapper from Nteje was only a joke and social media content.
She, therefore, in the 2nd video, pleaded with the people of Nteje community to forgive her for using the name of their community for such video, claiming that she didn’t even know how the name of the town came to her mouth, as, according to her, she didn’t even know anything about any community called Nteje before then.
The latest video also sparked off even more reactions, especially from the people of Nteje, with many labelling her content “stupid” and others lashing out a plethora of criticisms against her, her style of skit making, and her ‘suspicious’ acts, wondering why she did not mention or use the name of her own community for such content.
When contacted, the President General of Nteje, Dr. Nnamdi Ilodiuba, condemned making and circulating such video with the name of the community while the so-called content creator has her own community.
He described the act as highly irresponsible and damaging to the reputation of Nteje. He further expressed concerns over the negative portrayal and the potential impacts of such content on the image of the community.
According to him, associating Nteje name with such a heinous crime in a bid to create social media content is unacceptable and an act that would never go down well with any Onye Nteje who sees or hears about the so-called content.
While noting that he had sent invitations through someone who claimed to know the lady, to reach out to her to come for a clearer discussion on that and his personal piece of advice to her (though she’s yet to be seen); the PG further cautioned content creators and social media influencers to be more responsible in their contents and actions, warning that the pursuit of virality and attention should never come at the expense of defaming innocent communities or individuals.
When contacted by this reporter, the Anambra State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Mrs. Ify Obinabo, expressed deep disappointment over the video, noting that it trivialized the serious issue of child kidnapping, which has been a major concern in the society today.
She also condemned the use of sensitive matters like child trafficking for entertainment purposes, emphasizing that such actions could also undermine the ongoing efforts of the Governor Chukwuma Soludo Administration to combat human trafficking and child abuse in Anambra.
According her, “It is disheartening to see someone make a joke out of such a serious issue. Kidnapping and child trafficking are real challenges governments are working tirelessly to address. Using these matters to create ‘content’ not only disrespects the victims but also misleads the public. We cannot afford to trivialize these crimes, especially at a time when we are intensifying our fight against them.”
While reiterating that such content creates bad impression about Anambra and also sabotages the Governor’s efforts, Commissioner Obinabo further called for a rethink among those creating and spreading contents that do not add any value to the society —all in the name of skit making — strictly warning them to desist from such, due to its far-reaching implications and consequences.
Watch some of the reactions:
