Human rights lawyer Inibehe Effiong has confirmed the release of Abuja-based businesswoman Love Dooshima from police custody after she was detained over a viral social media video reviewing a loaf of bread that allegedly remained fresh for two months.
According to Effiong, Ms. Dooshima was released in the early hours of Tuesday after spending several hours in detention at the Zone 7 Police Headquarters in Abuja.
The detention followed a complaint lodged by the bread company Bon Bread, which claimed that the viral review was damaging to its reputation and business.
In a statement shared on his social media accounts on Tuesday morning, Effiong said the businesswoman had honoured a police invitation earlier on Monday, April 20, but was later detained.
“Ms. Love Dooshima, the businesswoman who made a review about an unarmed bread has just been released from police custody at Zone 7 Police Headquarters,” Effiong wrote.
He explained that his legal team received a distress call late Monday night indicating that Dooshima had been held after arriving at the police facility around 12 p.m. Effiong said he subsequently went to the police headquarters with activists MamaPee and Randy-Peter Akah to intervene.
Effiong further disclosed that the release came after the intervention of the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu’s office. “Following the intervention of the IGP, Tunji Disu, she has been released at 12:30 a.m. today, Tuesday, April 21, 2026. We will be back by daybreak,” he added.
The dispute began after Dooshima, a small business owner, posted a video on TikTok showing a loaf of bread in her shop that she claimed had remained soft and free of mould for about two months after purchase. The unusual claim quickly went viral, sparking debates among Nigerians about food safety standards and preservatives used in baked goods.
Although the video did not mention any bakery by name or display a product label, many online users speculated that the bread could be linked to Bon Bread, prompting the company to respond publicly.
The bakery’s founder and CEO, Maria Abdulkadir, defended the safety and quality of the company’s products and said the viral claim had caused reputational damage to the brand. She stated that the company attempted to contact the content creator to verify the claims before resorting to legal action, Punch revealed.
Reports indicate that the company filed a ₦50 million defamation lawsuit and also lodged a complaint with the police, which reportedly led to Dooshima being invited for questioning over allegations including cyberstalking and related offences.
Food science experts have also weighed in on the controversy. According to Christine Ikpeme, bread typically has a relatively short shelf life even when preservatives are used. She explained that bread without preservatives may last about two days, while bread made with approved preservatives may last two to three weeks at most, making a two-month shelf life unusual under normal conditions. However, there has been no evidence presented publicly that the bread referenced in Dooshima’s video contained excessive or harmful preservatives.
The incident has sparked a broader debate across Nigeria about consumer rights, freedom of expression, and the use of police processes in commercial disputes. Some commentators argue that the matter should remain a civil dispute between the company and the content creator rather than a criminal investigation.
As of the time of this report, the Nigeria Police Force had not issued an official statement detailing the circumstances of Dooshima’s detention. Meanwhile, Effiong said he and other activists would return to the police headquarters later Tuesday morning as the matter continues to unfold.