The Yobe State Police Command has debunked viral social media claims that one of its officers, Isah Abubakar, died while rescuing a baby from floodwaters in Damaturu, describing the report as false and fabricated.
According to the command, Abubakar drowned on August 3, 2026, after falling into a ditch while riding his bicycle to work following a heavy downpour.
The clarification followed a viral Instagram post by a user identified as Patriotic Soja (@Pressman2040), which claimed that a police officer identified as Albani lost his life after rescuing a baby who had fallen into floodwater in Damaturu.
The post read in part, “Police Officer Albani lost his life after rescuing a baby who fell into the water in Damaturu, Yobe State.”
However, when contacted by Saturday PUNCH, the Police Public Relations Officer for the Yobe State Police Command, Dungus Abdulkarim, dismissed the claim as entirely false.
Abdulkarim said, “Somebody just crafted that story. The police officer was on his way to the office in the morning, riding a bicycle. The previous night, there was heavy rain, so there was a large accumulation of water along the route he took.
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“People warned him not to pass through the water because there was a ditch there. He did not listen and went ahead. He fell into the ditch and drowned.
“I don’t know what baby he would be rescuing while riding a bicycle. There is nothing like that. It is not true. Somebody just crafted that story and posted it on Instagram, and you see people start using it as a news story. Please disregard it.”
An internal police signal obtained by Saturday PUNCH also confirmed the officer’s death while on active service.
The signal stated that Abubakar, attached to the Desert Intervention Squad, Haha Maza, died at about 6:30am after drowning along the Malumatari–Gujba Road in Damaturu while returning from duty.
The command urged members of the public to disregard the viral narrative and verify information through official sources before sharing it.
