When a prank goes wrong, the prankster pay the price – Police

A prank is a humorous and amusing act that is typically performed for amusement, with the intention of surprising and tricking someone.

Pranks, such as putting a fake spider on someone’s shoulder or setting an alarm clock to go off under someone’s bed, are typically intended to be lighthearted and harmless. But, cruel and destructive pranks can also be committed, such as causing damage to someone’s property or pulling a practical joke on someone who has a snake phobia.

They can be used to play practical jokes on friends or family members, such as placing a fictitious parking ticket on someone’s car or putting clear wrap over a doorway, or they can be used to provide fun and excitement to events like sleepovers and birthday parties.

However, today, some skit makers have neglected the importance of considering that pranks can have consequences. They also fail to consider the other person’s feelings and well-being before playing a prank. Such neglect has led to some pranks going awry, with the victims sustaining varying degrees of injuries and health challenges due to their inability to contain the shock.

Recently, a fresh graduate of the Department of Quantity Surveying, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Ifunanya Miracle, lost her life while escaping from a prank robbery on the premises of the school in the Awka area of Anambra State. Another female student and friend of the deceased, who was also present, sustained injuries too. This incident isn’t the first time unsuspecting persons were jostled beyond their emotional balance.

In some cases, some traders who were pranked by rubber snakes had their goods destroyed in an attempt to run from the snake, only to realize too late that it was a prank. In another instance, some local undertakers were contracted to take a coffin to a vehicle, only for the assumed dead man to ‘resurrect’, open the casket, and grab one of the undertakers by the shirt. The frightened undertaker shouted for help but found none as his colleagues fled and abandoned him to his fate. When he realized it was a prank, he went after the ‘resurrected man’, hurling stones at him in the process.

In another instance, a video went viral sometime last year where some persons were seen running away from a perceived robbery scene. A young man was seen with a gun that was later discovered to be a toy gun. Also, last year in Ondo State, a skit maker alleged to have written to a bank, threatening to come and rob it, was arrested. However, he claimed that it was a prank. But his explanation fell on deaf ears as he was arrested and charged to court, as the Ondo State Police Command described his action as an unpardonable offense.

Police sources hinted that any prank that results in the death of any individual or harm is considered an offense. According to the senior Police Officer, “Prank is not a yardstick to terminate one’s life. Since the prankster was the cause of the incident that claimed her life, he will be charged to court for the offense committed. There is nothing like a mistake in law. Any skit maker or prankster that uses his platform to commit an offense shall face the consequences according to the offense committed. Sensitive jokes are not condoned.