The Lagos State government has withdrawn the N25 million naira donation made for Mary Daniel the viral Oshodi amputee pure water hawker after detecting lies in her claims.
Recall that Mary said she lost a leg in an accident that killed all passengers, including her parents, when she was a child, a claim which brought her sympathy from Nigerians all over the world.
Mary also said in an interview that she was an orphan with a baby and an elderly grandma to care for.
She described how life had dealt her so badly, forcing her to drop out of school and hit the streets to make ends meet.
Following her touching stories, Nigerians began contributing money via her bank account, which was made public, with approximately N25m collected.
This made the Lagos state government quickly protect her to deter criminals from exploiting her wealth.
All was going just fine for the young lady when the state government learned on Thursday that her father was still alive.
It was also discovered that she had been amputated from birth.
Following revelations that her case was staged, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu promptly handed her over to social welfare officials for investigation.
Mary was said to have been receiving mysterious phone calls from those who staged her story, threatening to spill the truth unless she gave them their cut of the money.
Lagos State Commissioner of Police Hakeem Odumosu told Newsmen that the young woman was in the custody of officials of the Social Welfare and not the police as earlier reported.
“The police were there, but she was not turned over to us. She was turned over to the Social Welfare Department. There were inconsistencies and lies in her account of her childhood.
“It was revealed that, according to her assertion that her parents died in an accident that left her amputated, her father is still alive and that she has been amputated since birth.
“It was also discovered that her visit to Oshodi was staged. Those working with her played on Nigerians’ intellect to obtain donations.
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” It became apparent as people began threatening her. She had promised some N500, 000, different amount to others and was hoping to return to her home state when the information was leaked.
“I had to tie several police officers to her to protect her as she went to the bank. We were concerned that those people would accompany her, but things went smoothly because they were not noticed.
“At the moment, the state government is stopping her from receiving the funds.
“The government does not want it to become a thing for people to make up lies and manipulate people to get donations,” Odumosu said.
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