An 18-year-old Kano woman has shared her shocking ordeal of being imprisoned after a thief used her stolen SIM card to defraud a POS vendor, despite her having no involvement in the crime.
The victim, whose identity remain undisclosed spoke to Freedom Radio, a local radio station in Kano.
She explained that her troubles began when her phone was stolen during Tarawee prayers in Ramadan.
Unaware that she needed to file a police report or immediately swap her SIM, she assumed both were lost forever until her sister alerted her that the stolen number was active again, she stated.
A call that led to arrest
Desperate to recover her phone, she repeatedly called the number, but the thief never answered.
But unknown to her, the police were tracking the SIM after it was linked to a fraud case.
“They called me to ask if I knew the owner of the SIM,” she recounted.
“I explained it was mine but had been stolen. They said a POS vendor was scammed using it and asked me to come for questioning.”
Though community security cleared her, the police escalated the case to court, where she alleged being denied a chance to speak.
“The judge listened only to the POS vendor, then sentenced me,” she said.
She also said her bail was however set at N250,000 or property documents, neither of which her family had.
She explained how she spent five traumatic days in prison before public outcry, sparked by her family’s radio appeal, secured her release.
Behind bars, she also witnessed disturbing conditions where three pregnant women and three nursing mothers shared her overcrowded ward of 21 inmates.
Some, she learned, were arrested in mass at a wedding.
When asked if the allegation is true about the foods at correctional facilities are usually uneatable, she said: “The food was untouchable. “
“I also cried nonstop, because I had never been away from my family. Prison strips you of respect. People insult you for anything,” she added.
Though the 18 years old lady is now free, she however urges Nigerians to report lost phones immediately, swap SIMs, and avoid her nightmare.
She also appeals for help for pregnant inmates, who endure harsh conditions with little support.
Kano man arrested for lewd act with goat
Meanwhile, Legit.ng had earlier reported that a 24-year-old resident of Dawakin Kudu in Kano State, identified as Shamsu Yakubu, had been arrested by operatives of the Kano State Hisbah Board following the emergence of a disturbing video showing him engaging in an obscene act involving a she-goat.
The footage, which quickly spread across social media platforms—particularly TikTok—showed Shamsu performing an explicit act with the animal while instructing an unseen individual to record him.