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No, video does NOT show Nigerian Liverpool fans mourning Diogo Jota

A video showing a group of Liverpool supporters marching on a street has circulated online, accompanied by a claim that it shows fans in Nigeria mourning the death of Portuguese footballer Diogo Jota.

An X user, @AfricanHub_, posted the video, captioned: “Liverpool fans in Nigeria took to the streets in a solemn march to mourn the loss of Portuguese national, Diogo Jota.”

As of July 7, 2025, the video had garnered over 11,000 views, more than 100 likes, and over 22 reposts on the X platform.

READ : No! Sallah did NOT beat up a fan

Many users appeared to believe the claim, linking it to Nigeria’s large football fan base and the widespread popularity of Liverpool Football Club across the country.

CLAIM

Video shows Nigerian Liverpool fans mourning the death of Diogo Jota.

THE FINDINGS

Checks by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is MISLEADING, as the video was not recorded in Nigeria but in Uganda.

A closer look at the footage reveals a banner held by marchers that reads: NORTHERN UGANDA LIVERPOOL FANS”, clearly indicating that the procession took place in Uganda, not Nigeria.

A Google search using keywords from the video led to a post by Radiocity 97FM, a Ugandan-based radio station, which shared the same video on Instagram on July 5, 2025. According to their post, Liverpool fans in Gulu City, Uganda, organised the march to pay tribute to Diogo Jota.

Additional posts by sport platforms such as  Pulse sports and NBS Sports also confirmed that the event took place in Gulu, Northern Uganda.

READ ALSO : Doctored video shows Salah saying he would exit Liverpool soon

Diogo Jota, who reportedly died in a car crash along with his brother André Silva in Spain, was a Portuguese international and Liverpool forward. His passing has been widely mourned by fans across the globe, prompting tributes from multiple countries.

THE VERDICT

The claim that the video shows Nigerian Liverpool fans mourning the death of Diogo Jota is MISLEADING; the footage was actually recorded in Gulu, Uganda, by members of the Northern Uganda Liverpool Fans group.

Video claiming vigilante – herder clash in Benue is MISLEADING

A video claiming to depict an ongoing clash between local vigilantes and herdsmen in Benue State has surfaced online.

A Facebook page, Agozi Commedy, posted a 13-second video with the caption: “Ongoing war in Benue state as local vigilante killed 35 Fulani Herdsmen cow and 14 herdsmen that are terrorising the community.”

The video shows two groups clashing with cutlasses and sticks. The post has over 270,000 generated views and comments as of July 9, 2025.

CLAIM

Video shows ongoing clash between local vigilantes and herdsmen in Benue State.

THE FINDINGS

Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is MISLEADING.

Benue State has witnessed repeated episodes of violence involving herders and farming communities. In recent months, there were deadly attacks in communities such as Yelewata in Gwer West Local Government Area.

Checks show that the video used to support the claim has been circulating for a long time before July 2025. 

The FactCheckHub subjected the video to Google Reverse Image search, and the result revealed that the footage has appeared online in various contexts since at least 2022.

The earliest traceable version of the video shows it was recorded during a violent clash between rival gangs in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, in 2022. 

An X account who identified himself as President of the National Federation of Youth of the Union for Congolese Nation posted the video on August 23, 2022, with a caption translated as : “I condemn in the strongest possible terms: the resurgence of the Kuluna phenomenon in Kinshasa, despite the measures taken. We ask the relevant authorities to investigate this situation in order to take further deterrent measures in addition to national service.”

THE VERDICT

The video does not show an ongoing clash between vigilantes and herders in Benue State. It has been online since 2022 and originated from a gang clash in Kinshasa, DR Congo. While tensions exist in Benue, this video is being used out of context and misrepresents the current situation. Therefore, the claim is MISLEADING.

Old video of Atiku shared as comment on ADC presidential ticket

A video claiming to show former Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar expressing confidence about securing the presidential ticket of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) ahead of the 2027 elections has gone viral on social media.

The clip was shared by X user @Chibuso_mikel with the caption:

“Question: Are you confident that you will get the ADC presidential ticket?”

As of July 9, 2025, the post had garnered over 300 reposts and more than 1,000 likes. The same claim has appeared in several other social media posts.

The claim also appeared here and here

CLAIM 

Video shows former Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar expressing confidence about securing the presidential ticket of ADC.

screenshot of the viral post

 

THE FINDINGS

Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is MISLEADING. 

Atiku Abubakar is a Nigerian politician and former Vice President who served from 1999 to 2007. He has contested for the presidency multiple times—2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, and 2023—under different political parties, including the Action Congress (AC), the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and others. 

He has remained a recurring candidate in Nigeria’s electoral politics, often positioning himself within the opposition.

In July 2025, Atiku became part of a coalition of opposition figures, which included Peter Obi, Nasir El-Rufai, and Rotimi Amaechi that adopted the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as their new political platform. This move followed the failure to register a new party. 

The group announced the formation of an interim leadership structure, with David Mark appointed as interim chairman and Rauf Aregbesola as secretary. Their stated goal is to consolidate opposition efforts ahead of the 2027 general elections.

However, checks by The FactCheckHub show that the video in circulation has been online since 2022, before the 2023 general election. An earlier version of the video was shared here by Premium Times. 

It showed when Atiku spoke to the press, after a closed-door meeting with former President Olusegun Obasanjo at his residence in Abeokuta, Ogun.

Atiku was vying for the ticket of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) during the 2023 general election and not the African Democratic Congress(ADC) ahead of the 2027 election. 

He expressed assurances that he would eventually emerge as the PDP presidential flagbearer in the 2023 general elections.

“Have I ever failed to get the ticket? I’m confident that I will still get it,” he said.

When asked for his reaction on the call for the emergence of younger presidential candidates, Atiku responded, “Let the youths compete now. It is a competition. It is democracy.”

THE VERDICT 

The claim that the video shows Atiku Abubakar expressing confidence about securing the ADC presidential ticket for the 2027 election is MISLEADING. Investigations reveal that the video has been online since 2022 and pertains to his bid for the PDP ticket ahead of the 2023 elections.

Viral video does not show Buhari’s burial

An X account, @UDBiafra1st, posted a video showing Northern dignitaries gathered at a funeral, claiming it showed the burial of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

The video circulated amid viral rumours that the former president is critically ill.

The account shared the video with the caption: “They finally unveil the death of Muhammad Buhari.” 

As of July 7, 2025, the post has generated over 300 reposts and more than 800 likes.

The claim was also shared here on Facebook.

 CLAIM 

The video shows the burial of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

screenshot of the viral post

THE FINDINGS 

Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is MISLEADING. 

Reports emerged last week that former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari was critically ill and has been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit. However, Bashir Ahmad, who was a digital media aide to former President refuted the claim. 

The FactCheckHub analysed keyframes from the video using Google Reverse Image Search, the result shows that the video depicts the funeral of funeral of Safara’u Umar Radda, mother of Katsina State Governor, Dikko Umaru Radda who was buried on Sunday 23-03-2025.

Earlier versions of the video can be seen here, here and here

The funeral was attended by Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, Governor of Jigawa State, Umar Namadi, Speaker of the Katsina State House of Assembly, Nasir Yahaya Daura.

Daily Trust also reported the event, publishing photos showing the same dignitaries at the burial.

The burial rites, which took place at Radda Village in Charanchi Local Government Area and were attended by prominent government officials and traditional rulers.

THE VERDICT 

The claim that the video shows the burial of President Muhammadu Buhari is MISLEADING, as findings showed that the video depicts the burial rites of the Katsina governor’s mother.  

Kaduna farmers wait endlessly as N10bn dairy project abandoned, govt unable to provide answers

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By Cole Praise

 

Back in November 2023, a few months after Uba Sani, the Kaduna State governor, took an oath of office, top government officials streamed into Arla Farms in Damau area to witness the groundbreaking of a dairy-producing facility.

Barely a year later, the facility threw its gates open to certain key industry stakeholders, including local farmers, agricultural experts, veterinary students and top government officials, who saw dynamic methods of cow welfare, feeding mechanisms, and advanced milk production.

However, when DUBAWA visited the 400-hectare site in February 2025, the facility was far from its blueprint. The only route to the dairy farm was a crooked, untarred road besieged by uncultivated pasture and mooing cows.

Arla demonstration farm. Photo Credit: Cole Praise/DUBAWA.

“Money has already finished. I am telling you.” Abdulkareem Yahaya, a Damau resident, tried to explain to DUBAWA why a large portion of the project’s site was underdeveloped. He told DUBAWA that due to financial shortcomings, some of the companies that were contracted to construct infrastructural structures such as roads and culverts have abandoned the project.

Yahaya’s rather distressing reaction only portrayed the public assertion of an X user, Happy Ustaaz (@Ussyy), that despite the Kaduna State government obtaining a N10.5 billion loan to fund the Damau project, only 20 farmhouses out of the promised 1000 units have been completed.

DUBAWA set out to fact-check this, among other claims on the status of the farm.

 

N10.5 billion Damau household dairy farm project

On Jan. 17, 2020, the then-governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, inaugurated the Damau household milk project in Damau, Kubau Local Government, Kaduna State. The project is a government intervention to mitigate the prevailing farmer-herder clashes, which left tens of thousands dead and hundreds of thousands displaced in the northern Nigerian state. Worse still is the wanton devastation of crops and farmland by trespassing herds, costing local farmers millions of naira in losses and worsening food insecurity in the country.

READ THIS: Viral photo of cattle eating tomatoes is from India, not Nigeria

The proposed 1,000-unit household dairy farm in Damau, a remote village, was the state government’s brainchild against the crisis. It was supported by the Danish-affiliated dairy giant Arla and the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN).

At the dairy project’s inauguration, El Rufai stated that the initiative was adopted as a sustainable solution to the security challenges associated with nomadic livestock production. Meanwhile, Arla adopted the initiative to aid local livestock farmers and elevate profit-driven dairy development in Nigeria. The managing director of Arla Foods Nigeria, Peder Pederson, described the partnership as a business venture to further sustain the foreign company’s global sustainability goal.

Road leading to Arla dairy farm still untarred. Photo Credit: Cole Praise/DUBAWA.

The former managing director of Kaduna Market Development and Management Company (KMDMC), Tamar Nandul, once told Leadership via an interview what the farm settlement would look like.

She explained that the farm would be segmented into three districts of about 1,800 hectares each, each containing eight to nine clusters of about 200 hectares. Each district is expected to accommodate 320 to 360 farms. There would also be an extra 600 hectares of irrigated land for feed production during dry seasons.

About 40 farmers would be assigned a district, and a farmer and his household would own five hectares of farmland with a farmhouse, cattle shed, and calf pen. Half a hectare would be for housing and garden purposes, while the remaining four and a half would be for feed production. Each farmer would receive three crossbred cows solely for milk production and breeding.

Although the project site is situated in a remote area without any infrastructural development, the Kaduna State government said it would construct 130 kilometres of ten-metre-wide roads, 37 culverts, and two bridges. It also promised to build about 400 cattle sheds and calf pens, two skills acquisition centres, two primary health centres, two school blocks, two veterinary clinics, two market blocks/stalls, six toilet blocks and four security posts.

Moreover, in the project’s first phase, the local farmers would receive lessons on modern dairy. Arla constructed a demonstration farm on 400 hectares of land in the farm settlement. The facility would have several temperature-controlled housing units for the cattle, residential accommodation for farm workers, feed mills, feed storage facilities, irrigation systems, and a milking parlour. Arla initially invested about $14 million in the farm and planned to invest another $25 million further to provide a processing plant and establish milk collection centres.

 

Farmers in the dark as the government remains less proactive towards the dairy project

On a typical day in February 2025, the whole village was covered in a blanket of grey gloom. It had not had electricity in the last 20 years, and the glint of light that escaped from a few houses was sourced from solar energy. The atmosphere screamed rural as some old men idly cycled their bicycles off to their destinations. Children dutifully carried buckets of water to their homes from the large well they had fetched from.

A resident, Danladi Bello (real name withheld on request due to fear of victimisation), told DUBAWA that El Rufai’s government wanted Damau natives to be the first beneficiaries of the project because the site is in their village.

ALSO READ: DUBAWA’s report on ‘Baba Aisha herbal medicine’ wins at Global Fact 10

Nandul had told Leadership that the 1000 farmers who would be beneficiaries of the project would be picked from ten different towns in Kaduna State, including Anchau, Ikara, Makarfi, Hunkuyi, Soba, Zaria, Sabon Gari, Lere, Kauru, and Damau.

The people in Damau are Fulanis, who are predominantly cattle rearers. With the project stalling, they had to resort to open grazing because their immediate environment was inadequate for feeding the cows. Some household members are tasked with moving the cattle from place to place in search of feed. Sometimes, they move the cows from their initial location to another due to cattle rustling, a social-cultural blight that has plagued cattle rearers in the north for years.

Damau village. Photo Credit: Cole Praise/DUBAWA.

Danladi informed DUBAWA that when the project management team arrived at Damau, they only asked for the people’s biodata and inquired if they were interested in dairy farming. That was during their first encounter with the natives. When the management returned, they brought a list containing 400 names. These names belong to people shortlisted to participate in the programme. They were later divided into ten groups, each having 40 members. Danladi said there was no leadership initially.

Every group automatically became a cooperative society, which needed a leader. The Kaduna State Cooperative Society was present to witness the voting process. Anyone interested in the post would submit his or her name, while other members of the group who doubled as the floor members would make their respective choices. However, when an issue affects all the groups, each group will select a member to join another leadership group called the “Apex body.” This leadership group interacts with the project management team about the grievances of the cooperative societies and communicates the resolutions back to their cooperative society members.

Cattle on a farmland in Damau. Photo Credit: Cole Praise/DUBAWA.

Although not all cooperative members are cattle rearers, as some are crop farmers, all were trained in modern dairy. Yet Danladi stated that none of them has been empowered to use the skills they have learned at the periodic workshops. He explained that Arla, the Danish company responsible for training the villagers, taught them how to extract milk from cows, properly process it, and market it. However, the beneficiaries have yet to receive the foreign cows they would use for their learning experience in producing milk. Danladi pointed out that the local cows in the village could only produce a measly one litre per day compared to the Danish breed that can release an average of 20 to 25 litres of milk per day.

“The cows are not yet here. Those ones are modern ones. Our local ones produce only a litre per day. One litre. The ones, the one we are trained to take over when we work with them, they produce more than 20, 25 and above milk,” Danladi divulged to DUBAWA.

He opined that the government transition between El-Rufai and the current Kaduna State governor, Sani Uba, impeded the project’s progress. He said the current government has tried to proceed with the project despite the rift with the previous administration.

Bridge culvert connecting the village to the dairy facility. Photo Credit: Cole Praise/DUBAWA.

He stated that the current Kaduna State government appointed Ibrahim Lazuru as the new Managing Director for the Kaduna Markets Development and Managing Company (KMDMC), but beneficiaries have not had a cordial relationship with the new managing director. He said when he met them, he promised to complete the project. Yet, that is only as promising as an assurance can be. Although the managing director promised them cows, shelter and farmlands, Danladi told DUBAWA that he did not know why those promises were delayed.

He wants explanations for why the government failed to fulfil its promises, but he is more concerned that if he or any other farmer openly resents the government’s sluggish attitude, it would fray their relationship and cause the farmers to lose the project’s incentives altogether.

So, he and the others do not have any other option but to be patient. He told DUBAWA that the villagers recognise their undesirable inadequacies, which have only caused them to be tied to the government’s apron strings, making their situation hapless. It appears the government may have laid out its plan for the initiative, and at the same time, is reluctant to execute it, for no reason whatsoever.

“We are now like beggars. A beggar has no choice. We cannot do it (modern dairy) ourselves. We cannot sponsor it ourselves. The government has its way of doing things,” Danladi expressed sullenly.

But the Damau native did not hide his inner thoughts concerning the delayed project. He was as puzzled as he was hopeless about the standstill project. He wondered if the unexplained hitch was from the government or the contractors who were awarded the execution of the project or if it lay with KMDMC.

House units promised to the beneficiaries remain uncompleted. Photo Credit: Cole Praise/DUBAWA.

He said the lifesaver that has alleviated their mystery a little is the subsistence farming that every household in the village engages in. Naturally, every individual in the village is born into the family practice of owning a farm where they plant staple crops to feed on. But as simplistic as it is, it is not lucrative enough to feed an average large family three times a day, or finance personal projects. It is merely an aid for survival. But Danladi thought that if the government handed them the resources it had promised them before, they would be able to cater for their respective immediate needs. The initiative would only enhance the villagers’ purchasing power due to the profits they would garner after producing the milk.

Another programme beneficiary, Sabiu Damau, told DUBAWA that the programme has engaged them for four years. Like most participants, he is an agro-farmer and was taught how to grow grass to feed cows.

“They taught us how to feed cows. How to manage their food. How to plant their food. How to feed them. How to take care of them,” Sabiu said.

Sabiu, the secretary of his cooperative group, informed DUBAWA that the programme’s participants have already learnt the techniques involved in modern dairy farming, including extracting milk from cows and cooking it in different stages. He further divulged that the project’s team promised them house units, livestock, school buildings for their children, and commercial markets to sustain local businesses.

An incomplete house unit. Photo credit: Cole Praise/DUBAWA.

Yet Sabiu and 40 others from his cooperative society have not received the promised house units. The cooperative society secretary told DUBAWA that although the government has commenced building the 200 housing units, they have been left uncompleted. None of the farmers can live in the incomplete structures, so they continue to live in their blackout-ridden community.

“We have seen houses, but the houses are incomplete. They have already started building them. They built at least 200. But even though they are 200, they are not complete,” Sabiu divulged to DUBAWA.

When DUBAWA visited the settlement area, the house structures were about 30 units, and not completed. The pens were only five and abandoned. No school, veterinary clinic, market stall, security post, or public toilet has been built. It is not only the house units that the beneficiaries have waited endlessly for as they earnestly anticipate the day the government will hand them keys to their promised shops. However, most villagers still make makeshift stands in the village to sell their domestic wares.

Abandoned pen houses. Photo Credit: Cole Praise/DUBAWA.

Since 2022, the government has continued to assure the villagers that they will receive hectares of land, a power supply, school blocks, primary health centres, market blocks, etc. While the beneficiaries earnestly looked forward to receiving the entitlements the funded initiative brought to their doorstep, the programme’s team management only gave them paltry monies during workshops.

“For three years, they told us that they were on the way to give us that. But up till now, nothing has come to us. Next, if we go to the workshop, they give us fruit. Then at times, I just think, one time they gave us N10,000, during our workshop in Kaduna,” Sabiu told DUBAWA.

Within that period, the project team management has only organised workshops for the villagers five times. Sometimes, they engage only with the representatives of each cooperative society. Sabiu further informed that whenever the project’s management partners from Denmark want to meet with the beneficiaries, they usually request them to come to Lagos and dialogue. The purpose of such meetings was to know if the villagers received the resources the programme afforded them. Yet, not much of that would be discussed. When the representatives return to the village, they would only inform the rest of the cooperative members that the project’s management team has assured them that the programme will continue.

But the project stopped at a point. This happened when there was a change of government in 2023. That was the year El Rufai ended his tenure as governor of the state and handed power to his successor, Governor Uba, with whom he has experienced political conflicts to date. Earlier in 2025, El Rufai accused Governor Sani of siphoning local government funds to the United Kingdom (UK). Sabiu said they were told not to fret when the programme stopped, as the sudden development was only temporary and would not affect them. They were told that the sudden halt was attributed to some matters connected to the state, although they were not clarified on the issues.

An abandoned bridge culvert that channels water across the road leading to the farm settlement. Photo Source: Cole Praise/DUBAWA.

“It (programme) stopped. They say we should cool our minds and not bother ourselves. The programme would still continue, but there are some issues that they need to sort out with the state,” Sabiu narrated.

However, aside from the obvious reality that the beneficiaries in Damau have not received their rightful entitlements, the three-year-old project has not moved past its first stage. DUBAWA learnt that the project management team has engaged only the natives of Damau. All the people who were invited to join the programme so far have ties to Damau, with none from any of the other nine districts. Out of the proposed 1000 beneficiaries, which the government promised to train, only 400 have been admitted into the programme.

 

Arla reacts, the project is yet to kick off due to government’s intervention

DUBAWA contacted Arla via one of its corporate project managers, Funmi Oduntan. Oduntan told DUBAWA that Arla’s relationship with the local farmers in the Damau project is symbiotic. However, the Kaduna State government has to establish the farmers on the farm settlement before Arla engages them in the scope of modern dairy farming.

We learnt that once the farmers are settled, they will be allowed access to the demonstration farm, where they will learn how to utilise the yield from cows and adopt viable practices to sustain themselves via dairy farming. While the farmers will become knowledgeable about modern dairy farming, experience maximum increase in milk production, and accrue profits, Arla would be the offtaker of the milk produced by the farmers. This means the beneficiaries would agree to sell the milk realised from the project only to Arla, at an agreed price.

Despite the government’s failure to build the farm settlement and establish the farmers via the milk project, Oduntan told DUBAWA that Arla currently engages the farmers in training sessions. By partnering with some local associations, including the Milk Valued Chain Association, Arla uses extension workers to teach the farmers the scope of modern dairy.

Although the farmers scarcely have access to the demonstration farm where Arla retrieves raw milk from Holstein cows before processing it into an edible product, they are taken to the facility on open days. On such rare occasions, the farmers learn the machinery the Danish company uses to process the raw milk and the techniques applied in processing the milk.

Meanwhile, since the farmers have not received the foreign cows that the state government promised them at the beginning of the project, they can only use the local breed of cattle they own to practice what they have learnt.

“So it is not a book learning that they learn the theory and then we have to set them up to practicalise it. As they are learning, they are implementing it even with their own cows, with the cows they already have,” The corporate project manager informed DUBAWA.

However, the farmers cannot even sell milk to make a living because the project has not started. And, when the government settles them at the farm establishment, they would only sell to Arla. The offtake agreement between Arla and the farmers means that while Arla finances the project’s costs, including the training sessions the farmers undertake, the farmers would thereafter sell the milk they produce only to Arla. DUBAWA learnt that while some farmers have already signed off on the agreement, others would do the same when they settle on the farm establishment.

Oduntan stated that the houses where the farmers would reside have to be built, and pastures planted, before the farmers would be told to move there.

“Because the Kaduna State government is going to settle them (farmers) and their households, houses need to be constructed, and pastures need to be prepared. It is in progress; it is not completed yet,” she told DUBAWA.

 

Kaduna State Government remains passive, stalls response to project’s delay

DUBAWA contacted the Kaduna State Government spokesperson, Ibrahim Musa, about the stalled status of the dairy project. The top government official, who had initially disclosed to us that he was recently appointed and knew nothing about the project, promised to contact the right quarters for information about it.

“Like I told you, I am new. I would find somebody in the previous government whom you would ask those questions, because it was under the Kaduna Market Development and Management Company. I would find out what is happening and get back to you,” Ibrahim told DUBAWA. However, after a week of waiting for a response, he has yet to get back as of the time of publishing.

DUBAWA contacted the former special adviser on media and communications to the former governor of Kaduna State, Olumuyiwa Adekeye, concerning the project. Still, he did not respond to any of the questions we asked.

Moreover, DUBAWA had also requested the Kaduna State Ministry of Finance for the financial records and funds expended on the Dairy project. However, we received no response from the ministry after two months of contacting them.

 

Government’s sluggish response denies other farmers benefits to Damau project

When DUBAWA visited Lere, a local government in the Southern part of Kaduna State and one of the benefiting local governments of the project, we approached Adamu Maigari, a livestock owner. He told us that he started rearing cattle in 2019 and sells them after they mature. For Adamu and other cattle rearers in Lere, open grazing is still the most viable means of feeding their herd.

“For (the cows) whose milk we use, we take them to the bush in the morning, and in the evening, we bring them back,” he disclosed to DUBAWA.

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Adamu further stated that the local government authorities permit them to resort to open grazing to feed their cattle. Moreover, crop farmers welcome them onto their farms, especially after harvesting, and allow the cattle to eat the grasses on the farmland, maize, and millet stems. However, despite the cordial relationship between the cattle farmers and their crop counterparts, Adamu told DUBAWA that clashes usually arise.

When DUBAWA inquired from the Lere cattle rearer if he had ever heard of the Damau household milk farming, he replied in the negative. He told DUBAWA that he and other cattle rearers like him did not know about the programme.

“I have told you, I don’t even know this Damau household’s milk farming. There are many cattle rearers who don’t know,” Adamu outrightly stated.

The situation is similar in Sabon Gari, the local government of Kaduna State, where livestock farmers, who are meant to be beneficiaries, know nothing about the project.

 

*This report was republished from DUBAWA.

No, Peter Obi is not the first presidential candidate to garner 6 million votes without sitting governor

AN X user, @MaziGomez_, has claimed that Peter Obi is the first Nigerian politician to received six million votes in a presidential election without the backing of a sitting governor from his party. 

He posted the claim with a caption thus:

What Peter Obi did in 2023 elections, no Nigerian politician living or dead has ever done it. 6 million votes (after deductions from INEC) without a sitting Governor.

I can boldly say that Obi is the greatest politician ever in the history of Nigeria. 2027 we go again.”

READ THIS: Tinubu’s aide shares misleading image to falsely portray Obi’s record

The post has generated over 300,000 views, with over 900 reposts and 3,000 likes as of July 6, 2025.

 

CLAIM

Peter Obi is the first presidential candidate to get six million votes without having a sitting governor.

 

THE FINDINGS

Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE.

Peter Obi contested the 2023 Nigerian presidential election as the candidate of the Labour Party after leaving the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in May 2022. Before then, he had served as governor of Anambra State from 2006 to 2014.

Obi’s entry into the Labour Party reshaped the political landscape, as he quickly became the party’s standard-bearer and drew national attention as a third-force candidate in a race traditionally dominated by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the PDP.

In the election held on February 25, 2023, Obi secured 6,101,533 votes, according to the official results released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

He won in 11 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Some of the states he won include Lagos, Anambra, Enugu, Delta, Nasarawa, Ebonyi, Edo, and Plateau. His strongest performance was in the South-East region, where he recorded large margins.

Meanwhile, Obi wasn’t the first president to achieve the feat. In the 2011 Nigerian presidential election, former president Muhammadu Buhari contested under the platform of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), a party he helped establish in 2009 after leaving the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP).

ALSO READ: Tinubu administration continues to reel out misleading information 2 years on

This marked Buhari’s third attempt at the presidency, following his unsuccessful bids in 2003 and 2007. The CPC was relatively new at the time and had a limited national structure compared to the dominant parties like the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

Buhari secured a total of 12,250,853 votes in the 2011 election, finishing second behind Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP, who won with 22,616, 416 votes. Buhari performed strongly in the northern part of the country, particularly in states like Kano, Katsina, and Bauchi, where he maintained a loyal support base.

The CPC did not have any sitting governors during that election, making Buhari’s vote count significant considering the limited political machinery behind his campaign at the time.

 

THE VERDICT

The claim that Obi is the first presidential candidate to garner 6 million votes in Nigerian election is FALSE; former Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari, garnered 12 million votes in 2011 without a sitting governor.

Top AI chatbots can be easily manipulated to spread health disinformation – Report

A new international study has shown that it is easy to manipulate widely-used AI chatbots to deliver false and potentially harmful health information.

In the study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers evaluated the five foundational and most advanced AI systems developed by OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, Meta and X Corp to determine whether they could be programmed to operate as health disinformation chatbots.

The study which was conducted by researchers from the University of South Australia, Flinders University, University College London, Warsaw University of Technology and Harvard Medical School demonstrated that Large Language Models (LLMs), including some of the most advanced AI tools on the market, can be reprogrammed to spread convincing but entirely fabricated medical advice.

READ MORE: Global Fact-Check Chatbot launched to fight disinformation worldwide

Using instructions available only to developers, the researchers programmed each AI system – designed to operate as chatbots when embedded in web pages – to produce incorrect responses to health queries and include fabricated references from highly reputable sources to sound more authoritative and credible.

The ‘chatbots’ were then asked a series of health-related questions.

According to UniSA researcher, Natansh Modi, the results were disconcerting.

“In total, 88% of all responses were false,” Dr Modi says, “and yet they were presented with scientific terminology, a formal tone and fabricated references that made the information appear legitimate.

“The disinformation included claims about vaccines causing autism, cancer-curing diets, HIV being airborne and 5G causing infertility.”

Out of the five chatbots that were evaluated, four generated disinformation in 100% of their responses, while the fifth generated disinformation in 40% of its responses, showing some degree of robustness.

The team also explored the OpenAI GPT Store, a publicly accessible platform that allows users to easily create and share customised ChatGPT apps, to assess the ease with which the public could create disinformation tools.

“We successfully created a disinformation chatbot prototype using the platform and we also identified existing public tools on the store that were actively producing health disinformation.

“Our study is the first to systematically demonstrate that leading AI systems can be converted into disinformation chatbots using developers’ tools, but also tools available to the public.”

Modi said that these findings reveal a significant and previously under-explored risk in the health sector.

“Artificial intelligence is now deeply embedded in the way health information is accessed and delivered,” he said. “Millions of people are turning to AI tools for guidance on health-related questions.

DON’T MISS THIS: Meta chatbot spreads fake news, slams Facebook

He warned that if the systems can be manipulated to covertly produce false or misleading advice then they can create a powerful new avenue for disinformation that is harder to detect, harder to regulate and more persuasive than anything seen before.

“This is not a future risk. It is already possible, and it is already happening.”

He added: “Without immediate action, these systems could be exploited by malicious actors to manipulate public health discourse at scale, particularly during crises such as pandemics or vaccine campaigns.”

2024 OCCRP report naming Tinubu among most corrupt leaders resurfaces online

A 2024 report by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), which listed the Nigerian President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as one of the five finalists for its Person of the Year, has resurfaced online in what appears to be a coordinated misinformation campaign.

The report, originally published in December 2024, has been recirculated widely on X (formerly Twitter) since Friday, June 28, 2025, with several users sharing it as a recent development.

One notable post came from an X account @PO_GrassRootM, which misleadingly presented the story as a breaking news with the caption below:

“BREAKING: Bola Tinubu ranked as third most c͎o͎r͎r͎u͎p͎t͎ leader in the world.”

As of July 3, 2025, the post had garnered more than 460,000 views with over 3,500 reposts and 7,000 likes.

READ THIS: Skit video showing EFCC officials being harassed by military personnel goes viral

Following the post, some platforms, including Parallel Fact, amplified the claim without context. The story has also been reshared by numerous other accounts within the same period as seen here, here, here and here and here within the period. 

 

CLAIM

President Bola Tinubu ranked the third most corrupt leader in the world by OCCRP recently.

 

THE FINDINGS

Findings by The FactCheckHub revealed that the claim is MISLEADING. The report being referenced was released in December 2024, not in June/July 2025. Its spread without proper date and context distorts its context, especially as the 2025 edition of the OCCRP list has not yet been published.

During his 2023 presidential campaign, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, then the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), faced persistent questions about the source of his wealth—a controversy that has followed him all through his political career.

Screenshot of the viral X post. Insert: MISLEADING verdict.

Over the years, serious allegations have emerged linking Tinubu to issues ranging from money laundering and forgery to drug-related investigations.

In May 2023, documents revealed that Seyi Tinubu, the president’s son, had purchased a £10.8 million mansion in London. The property was previously linked to Kolawole Aluko, a fugitive wanted for financial crimes in Nigeria. It had once been listed among assets to be seized by Nigerian authorities.

In the early 1990s, U.S. court documents tied Tinubu to a heroin trafficking investigation centered around a syndicate led by Adegboyega Akande. Tinubu, who then resided in Chicago, was reported to have held multiple bank accounts into which suspicious funds were deposited. Although he was not formally charged, the U.S. government confiscated approximately $460,000 from one of his accounts as part of a civil forfeiture agreement.

DON’T MISS THIS: Amaechi was not arrested over corruption allegation

In its 2024 report, OCCRP named Tinubu as one of five finalists for its “Person of the Year” list, highlighting individuals who had been “especially effective in abusing power for personal gain.”

“We asked for nominations from readers, journalists, the Person of the Year judges, and others in the OCCRP global network,” the organisation said.

“The finalists who received the most votes this year were: President of Kenya William Ruto; Former President of Indonesia Joko Widodo; President of Nigeria Bola Ahmed Tinubu; Former Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina; and Indian businessman Gautam Adani” respectively.

President Tinubu came in third, based on over 55,000 nominations received globally, the OCCRP reported.

 

THE VERDICT

The claim that President Bola Tinubu was ranked as the third most corrupt leader recently is MISLEADING. The report being cited was published in December 2024, and no new ranking has been released as of July 2025.

Image does not show Ronaldo with infant Vitinha and Mendes

A viral image showing football star, Cristiano Ronaldo, cradling two babies has resurfaced online with claims suggesting the infants are now his Portuguese national teammates—Nuno Mendes and Vitinha. 

The photo is being shared in the wake of a similar viral image featuring Lionel Messi posing with a Barcelona youngster, Lamine Yamal, during his infancy.

The caption on the post read:

“Cristiano with 2 months old Nuno Mendes and Vitinha at Lisbon Hospital 2006. He selected them from birth 17 years ago to end Messi career. Wow. How time flies.” 

READ THIS: Claim that DSTV added new channel due to Ronaldo’s transfer is FALSE

The post has generated over 260,000 views, with more than 1,000 reposts and over 8,000 likes as of July 1, 2025.

 

CLAIM

Image shows Cristiano Ronaldo carrying infant Nuno Mendes and Vitinha.

 

THE FINDINGS 

Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is MISLEADING, as the image features Ronaldo with his newborn twins in 2017 — not Mendes and Vitinha in 2006.

Cristiano Ronaldo, a Portuguese footballer born in 1985, has maintained a professional football career spanning over two decades, making his debut for Sporting CP in 2002 before joining Manchester United in 2003. As of 2025, he continues to play professionally for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, making him one of the few elite footballers still active into their 40s.

Screenshot of the post retrieved from X. Insert: MISLEADING verdict.

Throughout his career, he has played alongside multiple generations of footballers, including teenagers and few of those born after his debut. At the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Ronaldo became the first male player to score in five different World Cups, further cementing his status as one of the longest-standing international players in modern era.

In recent seasons, he has remained a top scorer in the Saudi Pro League, often competing with and sometimes outperforming players nearly half his age. 

Currently, the 40-year-old Ronaldo is playing in the Portuguese national team with 25-year-old Vítor Machado Ferreira, also known as Vitinha and 23-year-old Nuno Mendes despite the age difference. 

However, findings by The FactCheckHub show that the image has been online since 2017. An earlier version of the image was shared by Ronaldo himself as well as Daily Mail and Indian Express

According to the media reports, the heartwarming photographs showed the twins of Cristiano Ronaldo who were born via a surrogate mother.

DON’T MISS THIS: Was a baby born holding the mother’s failed IUD?

This made him announce that year that he was leaving the FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia, where he was the captain of the Portuguese, to finally be with the newborns for the first time.

Similarly, he uploaded the image to his X account on June 29, 2017 and wrote: “So happy to be able to hold the two new loves of my life.”

 

THE VERDICT 

The claim that the image shows Cristiano Ronaldo with infant Nuno Mendes and Vitinha is MISLEADING. The photo actually features Ronaldo with his newborn twins in 2017—not Mendes and Vitinha in 2006.

Senegal to host 2025 Africa Facts summit

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THE Africa Check on Monday announced Senegal as the host country for the 2025 Africa Facts summit billed for October 1 – 2 in Dakar.

According to the organizers, the event will bring together fact-checking organisations and experts from all parts of Africa.

A statement signed by the executive director of Africa Check, Noko Makgato, on June 30, 2025 noted that this year’s summit, which would mark the first time it would be held in a francophone country, reflects the network’s significant growth since its inception.

READ THIS: 50 African fact-checking organisations sign declaration on information integrity

Commenting on the summit, the Chief Editor of Africa Check in Senegal, Valdez Onanina, noted that hosting the fourth edition of the Africa Facts Summit in a French-speaking African country for the first time is particularly symbolic.

“It is particularly symbolic that this fourth edition of the Africa Facts Summit is being held for the first time in a French-speaking African country. This historic first comes at a pivotal moment when challenges related to disinformation and information integrity represent pressing issues for our media ecosystems.

“These problems now constitute major emergencies for the balance and stability of our African societies, making this Dakar gathering all the more strategic for strengthening our collective resilience in the face of these challenges,” Onanina said.

The statement further noted that the summit would bring together a community of diverse stakeholders in the information integrity ecosystem on the continent to explore innovative projects and advancements in fact-checking practices employed in their daily operations.

As always, the summit would include panel discussions, workshops, and show-and-tell sessions aimed at exploring both the challenges and opportunities in the continent’s joint efforts to tackle misinformation.

According to the organisers, key themes of the summit would cover investigating disinformation campaigns, the influence of artificial intelligence (AI), coalition-based response models, effective counter-strategies, misinformation in conflict zones, and region-specific solutions tailored to various parts of the continent.

Also speaking, Africa Check’s head of Outreach and Impact, Dr. Hlalani Gumpo, said the event reflects the resilience and shared commitment of partners in tackling disinformation, while also fostering knowledge exchange to deepen impact across the continent.

ALSO READ: Fact-checkers, media urged to sanitise Africa’s information landscape

She added: “Despite the challenging conditions under which information integrity practitioners increasingly operate, the unwavering commitment of various partners and the continued growth of the Africa Facts network remain clear reflections of collective resilience.

“The summit not only reaffirms our shared purpose but also strengthens opportunities for ongoing knowledge exchange that sustains progress and deepens impact.”

The summit will conclude with the highly anticipated African Fact-Checking Awards gala dinner which is the longest running and largest awards programme honouring fact-checking journalism in Africa, part of the statement read.