Operatives of the Azikiwe Police Division in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, have rescued a woman, Maria Kobara, from being lynched by a mob after she was falsely accused of child theft.
The incident occurred on Saturday, June 13, 2026, along Owo Street in the Mile 2 area of Diobu, where Kobara was allegedly attacked by a crowd who suspected her of abducting a 12-year-old girl.
An eyewitness, Nelson Ogiriya, told our correspondent that he noticed a large gathering and stopped to find out what had transpired.
He explained that the woman was taking the young girl to church when another individual questioned her relationship with the child.
According to him, Kobara stated that the child’s mother had asked her to escort the girl to a church located on Eagle Island. However, the situation escalated when the woman who confronted her contacted the child’s father, who in turn reached out to his wife for confirmation.
Although the child’s mother confirmed that she had indeed sent her daughter with Kobara, the clarification came after some members of the crowd had already begun assaulting the woman, accusing her of attempting to steal the child.
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Police officers arrived at the scene during the attack and intervened, taking all parties involved to the station.
The spokesperson for the Rivers State Police Command, ASP Grace Iringe-Koko, confirmed the incident, stating that officers from the Azikiwe Police Division acted swiftly to rescue the woman from the mob.
She explained that preliminary investigations revealed that a relative of the child’s father had raised the alarm, which attracted residents and passers-by.
“The mob ignored the explanations given by the woman that she knew the child’s mother and had her consent. She was being physically assaulted when our officers arrived and rescued her,” the police spokesperson said.
She added that at the police station, the child’s mother verified Kobara’s account, confirming that she was neither a kidnapper nor a child thief, but was carrying out an errand on her behalf.
The police spokesperson urged residents to always report suspicious situations to law enforcement agencies rather than taking the law into their own hands.
She also warned against mob action and jungle justice, stressing that such acts would not be tolerated and that offenders would be prosecuted in accordance with the law.
