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Please note that the FactCheckHub has not obtained any right from the authors or copyright owners of all third-party contents from embedded links and shall incur no liability in this regard.
Please note that the FactCheckHub has not obtained any right from the authors or copyright owners of all third-party contents from embedded links and shall incur no liability in this regard.
GOVERNOR RaufAregbesola has listed 10 major achievements of his 8-year tenure on the website of Osun State government.
The third on the list of his achievements is that the government has increased the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) from N300, 000,000 to N1.5 billion every month.
Speaking at Africa Digital Forum five years ago, with the theme “Deepening e-Governance, Transparency with Broadband Access”, Aregbeshola said Osun state government has continued to increase its IGR to N1.5 billion every month with the deployment of electronic payment technology (E-Payment).
Aregbesola listed this achievement as one of his selling points while campaigning for the second term as governor.
Even as his tenure expires in three months or thereabouts, the governor conspicuously highlighted on the state’s website the N1.5 billion IGR as one of his successes in government.
But the data published by National Burea of Statistics(NBS), the agency that manages the country’s database, shows that the governor’s claim is misleading.
According to the NBS data, Osun State has never generated up to N1.5 billion in a month throughout the last 8 years of Aregbesola’s administration as the governor claimed.
On the average, the highest the state ever generated between2011 and 2017 is N997 million per month, when the total IGR for a year is divided by 12 months.
And that was in 2017, the year preceding the 2o18 election.For that year, the total IGR is 11.7 billion, the highest in eight years, according to NBS.
Though The Guardiannewspaper had already published the inconsistency in the records of the Osun State government in 2016, the governor has countered the publication with a different claim without making its record public. The rebuttal was followed with sponsored articles in national dailies.
Yet, the state is among those whose comprehensive budget is inaccessible to the public.
In a rejoinder published by the state in The Guardian, the government admitted it never generated as much as N1.5 billion. But the claim on its website specifically stated that it has consistently generated N1.5 billion on monthly basis.
The ICIR checked the only public record of IGR of the 36 states published by NBS and found that the record for Osun State is inconsistent with the claim on the government’s website.
On Friday, August 31, The ICIR sent questions to Alhaji Bola Oyebamiji, the state commissioner for finance, through his official address: [email protected], to clarify the inconsistency, but he has not responded as at the time of publication.
Another letter was sent on Sunday, September 2. Governor Aregbesola and his cabinet members, including the commissioner for information and strategy, Mr. Adelani Oluwatoyin Baderinwa, were copied in the letter. Till date, none of them has responded to the mail.
Conclusion
Notwithstanding, the NBS data shows that the IGR of Osun State indeed has increased in the last eight years of Governor Aregbesola administration. Between 2010 and 2017, the state generated N61.8 billion. But the government’s claim that it has generated N1.5 billion every month is false.
JIMOH Moshood, Nigeria’s Police Public Relations Officer, said on Thursday that the case the police have against detained Premium Times journalist, Samuel Ogundipe, is that of unlawful access to and publication of classified documents.
He passed this remark while addressing protesters who demanded for the release of the detained journalist at the Police Headquarters, Abuja.
“What we are saying is that even the Freedom of Information Act is limited when it comes to documents that are classified,” he had said.
“And if you have access to such a document, it is wrong; and that is the case we are investigating. The case the police department is investigating with respect to Samuel Ogundipe is that of theft and unjustified access to documents that are restricted and classified.”
Moshood added: “This document does not fall under what the Freedom of Information Act permits a journalist to have.”
But how true really are these statements? In this fact-check, The ICIR places them on a scale against available facts.
WHY ARE DOCUMENTS CLASSIFIED?
According to Nigeria’s Official Secrets Act of 1962, “classified matter means any information or thing which, under any system of security classification, from time to time, in use by or by any branch of the government, is not to be disclosed to the public and of which the disclosure to the public would be prejudicial to the security of Nigeria”.
The Act, in its very first section, also states as an offence transmitting “any classified matter” to an unauthorised person or obtaining, reproducing or retaining “any classified matter which he is not authorized on behalf of the government to obtain, reproduce or retain”.
Documents, according to the United Kingdom Government Protective Marking Scheme, may be classified as top secret, secret or official. Before 2014, we had top secret, secret, confidential, restricted, protect and unclassified.
Documents are classified because of reasonable likelihood to cause some level of damage to national security if there is unauthorised disclosure, and the classifier must be ready to justify the classification upon request.
HOW DOES A CLASSIFIED DOCUMENT LOOK?
The Official Secrets Act does not proceed to lay down a fundamental system of security classification nor stipulate how a classified document can be physically recognised. There are however general standards that may be applied by inference.
The 2001 Guide to Marking Documents of the U.S. National Imagery and Mapping Agency says marking classified documents has six purposes: to alert the holder that the item requires protection, advise the holder of the level of protection, show what is classified and what is not, show how long the information requires protection, give information about the origin of the classification, and provide warnings about any special security requirements.
It further provides that “there are three essential markings required on all information classified as national security information… [and they] will appear on the face of each classified document.” They are a. Classification Line (at the top and bottom, usually in red ink); b. Portion Marking; and c. Classification Block which consists of the identity of the original classification authority (OCA), agency and office of origin, declassification instructions, and reason for classification.
Page 1 of a former classified document: the National Security Directive 54, a 2009 presidential directive on federal cybersecurity (released June 5, 2014). (U) stands for ‘unclassified’.
A look at former secret documents released under the Freedom of Information Act reveals these markings to be present. (S) represents secret, (TS) represents top secret, (C) represents confidential, (U) represents unclassified, and so on.
IGP LETTER TO ACTING PRESIDENT HAS NO MARKINGS
A leaked copy of the interim investigation report sent to the Acting President by the Inspector General of Police evidently has none of the aforementioned markings that suggest it to contain classified information. It is, by all indications, a typical letter.
Page 1 of the IGP letter to Acting President Yemi Osinbajo.
If it is argued that the document is indeed classified, then reference may be made to Section 1(3)(a) of the Official Secrets Act which provides possible defences to the offence of transmitting or reproducing classified information.
It states: “In proceedings for an offence under subsection (1) of this section relating to any classified matter, it shall be a defence to prove that when the accused transmitted, obtained, reproduced or retained the matter, as the case may be, he did not know and could not reasonably have been expected to believe that it was classified matter.”
Therefore, in this case where Premium Times journalist, Samuel Ogundipe, is alleged to have unlawfully published classified information, it is the case that he could not have known as the document itself does not claim to be classified.
AND WHAT IF IT IS CLASSIFIED? … A GLANCE AT THE UNITED STATES
When Donald Trump became president of the United States, he wanted reporters who publish classified documents arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). But according to this Forbes article by Anders Corr, publisher of the Journal of Political Risk: “This would be a break from past enforcement policies and would be an increase in the power of government relative to the free press in the U.S.”
He also wrote: “While it may technically be illegal to publish classified material, the Federal Government has generally not enforced laws against such publication by legitimate journalists when that classified material leaks from government sources.”
His view was supported by Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black—and the court generally—in the 1971 case of New York Times and Washington Post where it was ruled that the Nixon administration could not prevent the press from publishing leaked, classified Vietnam War documents.
James Comey, Director of FBI, was asked in 2017, and he replied that the matter was “probably beyond my ken”. But Jonathan Peters, a media law professor at the University of Kansas has said, for prosecution to be valid, the publication under scrutiny would have to result in “direct, immediate and irreparable damage” to the safety or interest of the state. Leaking classified information is, therefore, not automatically a crime in itself.
Finally, also instructive is that in 2013 the U.S. Justice Department said it was not going to bring charges against Julian Assnage, WikiLeaks founder, for publishing classified documents because “government lawyers said they could not do so without also prosecuting U.S. news organizations and journalists.”
POLICE CHARGE HAS NO MENTION OF ‘CLASSIFIED INFORMATION’
The charge filed by the Police against Ogundipe, released on Thursday by Premium Times, has also partly belied Police PRO Moshood’s claims. The nature of the crime committed, according to the document, is “criminal trespass, theft in dwelling house, and having in possession of police interim investigation report”.
While it claims that the document was stored “in the confidential registry of the State House, Federal Capital Territory”, the charge does not expressly categorise the document as classified.
Police charge against Samuel Ogundipe
CONCLUSION
From all indications, it is not true that the IGP interim report sent to Acting President Yemi Osinbajo was classified information. Unlike other classified documents, it was not marked with necessary classifiers. And if it is truly classified, then not only does Ogundipe have a defence under the Official Secrets Act, it might be rash for the government to take legal action on that basis alone.
OMOYELE Sowore, the publisher of Sahara Reporters and a presidential aspirant in the forthcoming 2019 general elections, has been consistent in his comments that Nigeria has no business running a bicameral legislature, and that the Senate should be scrapped.
According to him, Nigeria “spends N1 trillion yearly as salaries and emoluments of the senators, including constituency allowances”.
He said this huge amount could have been channelled to the agriculture and education sectors.
Though the report by ThisDay did not quote Sowore as making the above statement word-for-word, the presidential hopeful shared the article on his Facebook timeline, and as at Monday, the post has been further shared by over 300 of his Facebook followers.
However, the ICIR finds Sowore’s claim to be false.
Nigeria’s entire budget for 2018 is approximately N9.1 trillion, the biggest budgetary allocation in the country’s history. In it, the entire budgetary allocation to the National Assembly, comprising the House of Representatives, the Senate and every other parastatal that falls under the legislative arm of government, is approximately N139.5 billion. That was after the initial allocation of N125 billion was increased by N14.5 billion.
This is the largest amount ever budgeted for the National Assembly since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999, and the sum is less than 15 per cent of the N1 trillion Sowore claims the Senate alone spends annually.
Four-year budgetary allocation to the National Assembly (2015 to 2018)
In 2017, the budgetary allocation to the National Assembly was N125 billion; it was N115 billion in 2016, and N120 billion in 2015.
However, aside from the budgetary allocation to the National Assembly, there is also a separate allocation for zonal intervention projects, popularly known as constituency projects for both legislative chambers. This practice came into effect in 1999, during the Olusegun Obasanjo administration. The amount was N100 billion in 2016, 2017 and 2018 respectively.
CONCLUSION
There has not been much transparency as to the breakdown of the budgetary allocations to the National Assembly over the years. Also, there have been lots of questions as to whether allocations for zonal intervention projects have been effectively utilised.
However, there is no proof to support the claim that the entire legislative arm of government, let alone the Senate, spends up to a trillion naira annually as claimed by Sowore.
The ICIR called Sowore to get more information but his Nigerian number was switched off. He, however, answered the call put through his US number, promising to call back with his Nigerian number. He has yet to do so as of the time of publishing this report. Messages sent to his phone line, WhatsApp and Facebook timelines were also not responded to.
A video has gone into circulation, which appears to show President Muhammadu Buhari, Transport Minister Rotimi Amaechi, APC national leader Bola Tinubu, and Festus Keyamo, Buhari’s re-election campaign spokesperson, being ushered into a police van in the United Kingdom.
“Buhari in Black Maria, London Nightmare,” says the caption on the video, which is copyrighted by one Emmanuel Uche.
Accompanying it also is an explanatory note, stating that the video was blocked by the federal government to prevent Nigerians from having access. It further claims Buhari was arrested by the INTERPOL, acting on a warrant of the International Criminal Court, before his eventual release on bail.
“International Criminal Court ICC warrant raised against General Muhammadu Buhari (Rtd),” it said.
“The Interpol arrested him briefly during one of his recent visit to the United Kingdom, Buhari was released on bail as lawyers prepare his case at the ICC. It was like a joke when a video showing clips of General Buhari being conveyed to a waiting British Police Armor Criminal Carrier {ACC} to be whisked off, to answer cases of crime against humanity levels against him.”
The ICIR examines the facts to determine if these events truly took place.
THREE-YEAR OLD VIDEO
The video in question has not just surfaced but is merely recycled. It was first uploaded and shared three years, during Buhari’s pre-election visit to the Chatham House. It was again uploaded two years ago by another YouTube, and then even more recently with similar claims.
In February, 2015, then presidential candidate Muhammadu Buhari was at the Chatham House, an independent policy institute based in London, to deliver a speech on “Prospects for Democratic Consolidation in Africa: Nigeria’s Transition”.
He was in the company of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), John Odigie Oyegun, former APC national chairman, Rotimi Amaechi, then governor of Rivers state, and Adams Oshiomhole, then governor of Edo state.
At the venue also was a crowd of protesters who demonstrated against Buhari’s candidacy and political aspiration. Video evidence, meanwhile, later emerged suggesting that the protesters were paid $20,000 by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to stage the rally.
Another pointer to the age of the video is the reference to Buhari as “General Muhammadu Buhari (Rtd)”, a title which was more appropriate three years ago before he was sworn in as Nigeria’s president.
DENIED BY INTERPOL
In an emailed response to The ICIR‘s enquiry, the INTERPOL Press Office said the organisation “does not make arrests”, adding that all arrests are made by the police force of a country in compliance with local laws.
A source at the INTERPOL who spoke with The ICIR also confirmed that the claims surrounding the video aren’t true, and said members of the Metropolitan Police Service he spoke to described it as doubtful. A cop who works with the Metropolitan Police also said they do not make arrests using such vehicles.
The vehicle is a Metropolitan Police Mercedes Sprinter Public Order Vehicle (POV) used by the Territorial Support Group (TSG). The TSG is a specialist unit of the Police that maintains public order and addresses riots, disorder, or large scale riots.
A Met Police POV seen in Newport, Wales during the NATO Summit. Photo Credit: Chris’ 999
NO ICC WARRANT AGAINST BUHARI
A look through the records of the International Criminal Court (ICC) also revealed that Buhari is not among the 42 defendants listed to have one case or the other, some of whom are said to be at large and have warrants issued for their arrest.
The ICC case file on Nigeria with respect to “alleged crimes against humanity or war crimes” is still undergoing preliminary investigation and has been open since 2011 — long before Buhari’s presidency.
It is noteworthy also that Buhari was invited to an event held on July 17 at the ICC headquarters in the Netherlands, to mark the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Rome Statute. The event, in fact, featured a keynote speech by Nigeria’s president.
The PDP, which complained to the ICC in May over alleged hate speech by Buhari, has however described the invitation as an indictment on the administration. It also urged Buhari to report himself to the international court over “documented human right abuses, crime against humanity and killings in Nigeria”.
Festus Keyamo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria who was in May appointed as the Director of Strategic Communications for Buhari’s 2019 presidential campaign and was among the 2015 delegation to Chatham House, has also denied the viral claims.
He explained to The ICIR that, as a result of confrontations between pro- and anti-Buhari protesters outside the Chatham House in 2015, the British Police’s help had to be sought to ensure the presidential aspirant’s safety.
“During 2015 campaigns, after Buhari’s address at Chatham House, London, APC and PDP supporters [were] almost fighting outside,” he said. “British Police was called in to take us to safety to prevent any harm befalling him.”
CONCLUSION
It is not true Buhari was arrested by the International Police based on a warrant issued by the ICC “to answer cases of crimes against humanity leveled against him”. Not only does the INTERPOL not make arrests, the British Police does not deploy the van shown in the video to arrest individuals and Buhari is not under the ICC’s list of wanted persons.
In a nutshell, the circumstances surrounding what happened in the circulated video are much different than have been painted.
FOR many reasons, a vote of no confidence has been passed by many on the recently released Nigeria Air logo — as the entire flag carrier project. Many have said it is below quality. Some say it lacks originality, as the ribbon symbolism has been overused in the past.
The federal government has also been severely criticised since indications emerged that the logo contract was awarded to a Bahraini company, From 6, despite the abundance of similar service providers in the country. There is also a claim that the contract was worth $600,000 (N183 million).
The ICIR examines available evidence around these claims.
Yes, admits From 6 Communucations
From 6 Communications, a branding and advertising agency co-founded by Pennie Nixon and Steve Doleman, has indeed confirmed it designed the Nigeria Air logo.
It made a video post on its Facebook page on Wednesday, the same day the carrier name and logo was unveiled in London by Hadi Sirika, Minister of State for Aviation, to showcase their “most recent airline branding project”.
Photo credit: Bella Naija
The post was however pulled down and replaced with a similar announcement on Friday, in which the company revealed the branding project was carried out in conjunction with “Nigerian marketing agency Image & Time and Airline Management Group (AMG), Transaction Advisors for the new National Flag Carrier”. The same post was released through From 6’s LinkedIn page.
Image & Time is a corporate branding and communication company with offices in Lagos and London, and Airline Management Group is a UK-based company that assists in developing and implementing complex airline and aviation industry projects.
Air Management Group was hired by the federal government in February, after Lufthansa Consulting was dropped, to provide transaction advisory services for the establishment of a national carrier.
A check of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) company portal revealed that neither From 6 Communications nor Image & Time are incorporated with the commission.
Contract cost unknown
The ICIR could not independently verify the amount utilised for the branding project. The Minister of State for Aviation could not be reached as a call placed to his line did not go through.
The federal government, however, budgeted the sum of N555 million for the establishment of national carrier and N200 million for consultancy for the establishment in the 2017 budget.
And, in 2018, N50 million was allocated for the establishment of the carrier, while N20 million was allocation for consultancy.
Local content executive order still valid
In May, 2017, the federal government signed and released an Executive Order On Support for Local
Content in Public Procurement. This law generally provides that “all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the FGN shall grant preference to local manufacturers of goods and service providers in their procurement of goods and services.”
Item 4 of the instrument further states that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) shall be given preference and at least 40 percent of the procurement expenditure on it in all MDAs shall be locally manufactured goods or acquired through local service providers.
Again in February, President Muhammadu Buhari signed Executive Order 5 to promote science and technology acquisition and the participation of local companies in government procurement activities.
However, the government has evidently not adhered strictly to this declaration.
Conclusion
While it is true the branding of the proposed flag carrier, Nigeria Air, was done by a foreign company, there is no evidence to suggest $600,000 was expended by government on the said contract.
THE mega rally of the All Progressive Congress (APC) on Tuesday ahead of the Saturday’s governorship election in Ekiti State presented an opportunity not only to praise the party’s candidate but also to write off the opposition.
One of those who passionately seized this opportunity was Adams Oshiomhole, newly elected APC National Chairman. He said he made efforts to read books, published works and the PhD thesis written by Kolapo Olubunmi Olusola, the PDP governorship candidate, but was unable to find any of those documents.
He further questioned the legitimacy of Olusola’s professorship based on his findings.
“I understand the one they are bringing, they said he is a professor,” Oshiomhole said.
“So I went to the library and I was looking for any of the books that he may have written, because to be a professor you are supposed to have published a lot of materials. I wanted to read any of the books written by this professor so that I can gauge how his mind works.
“But then, when I couldn’t find, I asked the librarian, this candidate who wants to contest with Dr Fayemi, where are his published works, I want to see his PhD thesis so that I can evaluate it and it will give me a window into his heart. There is none. I say none.”
“Se ti iwo o ba ko iwe, bawo ni iwo se je professor,” he added using a Yoruba expression, which translates in English as: if you did not write a book, how then did you become a professor.
Olusola, reports say, graduated as the best student of his set in 1989 when he had his first degree in Building from Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU). He holds a Master’s Degree in Construction Technology from University of Lagos in 1993 and PhD in Building Structures from Obafemi Awolowo University in 2005. And he has lectured both at Covenant University and OAU.
However, is it true as the APC chieftain strongly suggested that Olusola does not have any books or academic papers written by him or accessible to the general public?
NO, SAYS GOOGLE SCHOLAR
Kolapo Olusola’s page on Google Scholar
A simple search by the ICIR on Google Scholar, a freely accessible web search engine that indexes a wide range of academic literature, revealed that Kolapo Olusola has an exclusive profile page.
His works have been cited in 390 places. The vast majority of indexed academic papers are, however, either authored only by him or in conjunction with other researchers.
Also according to the Google application, his unpublished PhD thesis―with the topic: Factors affecting compressive strength and elastic properties of lateriased concrete―has been cited up to 21 times, including in this paper: Determining the Properties of Green Laterized Concrete with
Fly Ash for Sustainable Solid Waste Management.
Office of the HoD Secretary, Department of Building, OAU
Twice on Wednesday, the ICIR reporter visited the OAU Department of Building to confirm the submission and availability of Olusola’s PhD thesis. However, the departmental secretary, with access to the theses, requested the reporter to come the following day. On Thursday, there was no official available to attend to the ICIR’s request.
HIS BOOK ON AMAZON
Additionally, Olusola’s scholarly works have been featured on Amazon, the world’s largest electronic commerce company. A book, which he co-authored with Babatunde Olawuyi, Volcanic Ash Blended Cement Laterized Concrete, is listed for sale on the platform. It was published in 2017 and costs $49.
‘Volcanic Ash Blended Cement Laterized Concrete’ by Babatunde Olawuyi and Kolapo Olusola
CONCLUSION
It is false – as the APC National Chairman suggested – that Olusola has not written any books, research papers or PhD thesis. While it is possible the library he visited does not contain any of such works, a simple web search is all that is needed for Oshiomhole to have an idea about the PDP aspirant’s scholarly works.
PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari, on Wednesday night, announced that Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, the popularly acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 general election – which was annulled by then military Head of State, Ibrahim Babangida – will be honoured with a posthumous national award of Grand Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (GCFR).
Buhari also announced that henceforth, Nigeria will mark its Democracy Day on June 12 every year, as the events of June 12, 1993, hold more significance for Nigeria than that of May 29, 1999, when the military, again, handed over power to a democratically elected government.
However, Alfa Belgore, former Chief Justice of Nigeria between 2006 and 2007, said it is illegal for Buhari to confer a national honour to a deceased person.
“It is not done. It (the award) is for people living,” Belgore told Premium Times. “The only thing they could do is to name a place after him, but national honours award, no.”
TRUE OR FALSE?
Checks by the ICIR shows that section 3(2) of the National Honours Act provides that “a person shall be appointed to a particular rank of an Order when he receives from the President in person, at an investiture held for the purpose”.
A deceased person cannot receive anything “in person”.
However, section 3(3) reads as follows: “If in the case of any person it appears to the President expedient to dispense with the requirements of paragraph (2) of this article, he (the President) may direct that that person shall be appointed to the rank in question in such a manner as may be specified in the direction.”
There is no specific provision in the Act stating that national honours cannot be conferred to a deceased person. The President is at liberty to use his discretion to confer the honours on anyone who could not appear in person.
So, Alfa Belgore’s claim – that awarding a national honour posthumously is illegal – can best be described as misleading.
OTHER EXPERTS’ VIEWS
When The ICIR contacted Itse Sagay, a professor of law and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, he said there is no illegality in Buhari’s action.
Sagay, who also heads the Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti-Corruption (PACAC), disagreed with Belgore, insisting that honouring Abiola is an action that “binds the wounds of the nation”.
He said he does not know the specific provisions of the National Honours Act, but there are instances where more emphasis should be placed on the spirit and intent of an action rather than the technicalities of law
“In this case, justice should prevail over technicalities of the law. President Buhari did the right thing by acknowledging the events of June 12 and honouring Abiola,” Sagay said.
On whether it was the right timing for such a decision to be announced, and whether the move is a political one, aimed at appealing to South West voters in the forthcoming 2019 general election, Sagay said there can never be a wrong timing to do the right thing.
“People are bound to say anything they like. This is the right thing for President Buhari to have done, it doesn’t matter whether it is a political move or not. It also does not matter when he did it. It is the right decision.
“If Jonathan had done it, it would have been good. If Obasanjo had done it, it would have been good. They didn’t. Now that Buhari has done it, it is the right thing to do,” Sagay insisted.
Also, Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, agreed with Sagay that there was no illegality whatsoever in conferring a posthumous national honour on Buhari.
Jacobs described Belgore’s claims as a “purely political and personal opinion” which has “no legal basis”.
“Posthumous awards are recognised all over the world, and besides, it is the right thing for President Buhari to do,” Jacobs said in a phone interview with The ICIR.
Similarly, Benjamin Obidegwu, a Lagos-based legal practitioner, told The ICIR that there is nothing illegal in President Buhari’s actions.
“I’m aware that honours are given posthumously, it’s nothing new and it’s nothing illegal, except if the Act specifically says that, which I don’t think is true,” Obidegwu said.
“What Abiola’s own indirectly means is that he was recognized as the winner of that (1993) election, because that GCFR is given only to presidents.
“The only challenge I have with that is that Abiola was never a President. The fact that he won did not mean he was President, until you are sworn in, you are not a president, that’s the only challenge. Otherwise, there is nothing illegal in the decision.”
A picture recently surfaced on the social media showing a business card belonging to Michael Nwokolo. Nwokolo, according to the card, has not only a Ph.D, but also a “CSS, OSHS, PFSO, PGD, MSc, BSc, Higher Diploma, Diploma, FNIIS, FOSHA, FCIPM, FCFE, FABS, FIGRLT, FCFN, FCILM, FIBTM, FIGAN, MNIM, MISOM, [and] MIACP”.
It also states that he is a forensic fingerprint expert, Dr. in leadership, Dr. in graphognomy, Dr. in theology, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), and the head, Latent Fingerprint Unit, Forensic and Crime Data Section, Criminal Investigation Department, Ikoyi, Lagos.
A visit to his LinkedIn and Facebook pages also reveals these many qualifications, and even more. Nwokolo is not shy to flaunt his achievements and has realised the power of the social media in improving career prospects.
A picture of him and a heap of certificates in his office have also been in circulation, and have triggered many Nigerians to ask why Nwokolo, with his numerous honours and degrees, has not been promoted above his current rank as a DSP. Some have even celebrated him as Nigeria’s most educated police officer.
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT HIM ― OR WHAT HE WANTS US TO KNOW
Professor Michael Nwokolo on his Facebook page says the following about himself:
EOD [Explosive Ordnance Disposal] at Forensic Expert
Senior Lecturer at University of Lagos
Studied Business Administration at Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos (Post graduate, Class of 1999)
Studied Sociology at University of Lagos (MSc)
Studied Sociology at Green Hills University, Copenhagen, Denmark (PhD)
Studied Public Administration at Adekunle Ajasin University, Ondo (Class of 2004)
Went to Unity School Agbarho Delta State (Class of 1980)
And on LinkedIn, he makes the following claims:
Author of some books like The Science of Fingerprint and its importance and, The Challenges of Kidnappings in Nigeria
Can speak English and French
Lecturer, UNILAG, International Academy of Forensic (2017 – present)
Has a PhD in Sociology, Green Hills University, Denmark (2011-2013)
M.A., Professional Use of English, OAU (2007-2009)
Director of Theology (ThD), MOSBI, Lagos (2007-2008)
BSc Public Administration, Adekunle Ajasin University (2000-2004)
Post Graduate Diploma, Business Administration and Management, Nigerian Institute of Journalism (1998-1999)
Professor of Sociology – Green Hills University Denmark (Registrar Africa Campus)
Professor Security Management – Edexcel University, Benin Republic
Professional achievements: Master Numerologist, Professional Graphologist, Forensic Fingerprint Expert, Document Examiner, Occupational Safety and Health Specialist (OSHS)
FOSHA – Fellow Occupational Safety and Health Association, UK; FCIPM – Fellow Charter, Institute of Public Management; FCFE – Fellow Chartered Fraud Examiners; FABS – Fellow African Business School; FCFN – Fellow Chaplain Fellowship of Nigeria; FIGRLT – Fellow Institute of Government Research and Leadership Technology; FIBTM – Fellow Institute of Business and Technology Management; FCLIM – Fellow Chartered Institute of Leadership and Management; FIGAN – Fellow Institute of Graphologist of Nigeria; MNIM – Member Nigerian Institute of Management; MISOM – Member International School of Minis; MIACP – Member International Association of Chief of Police; Fellow and Exco, Nigerian Institute for Industrial Security, Lagos
Crack Detective/Investigator in the force for over 30 years
Head Security: ECOWAS/Banks/UN/Embassy/PA/Special Adviser/Security Adviser/C.S.O/Security Supervisor/HR Manager/Chancellor etc.
CSO – UN, ECOWAS, Embassies, Commissioner or Minister, PRO, Chancellor, Vice Chancellor etc.
Has special skills as a numerologist, graphologist/document examiner etc.
Professor Nwokolo’s display of awards and certificates, uploaded on Facebook
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
It goes without saying that this list is mind-blowing. But it also appears almost too good to be true, thus triggering the decison by the ICIR to investigate how true the claims are. Emails were sent to some of the institutions and calls placed to some others.
However, it is generally expected that for someone with such a robust profile, his internet footprints would be massive. But oddly, a Google search of the words “Michael Nwokolo” returns little relevant results: his LinkedIn profile, his Facebook profile, and numerous blog posts that were published following the emergence of a picture of his business card. There are no news reports, opinion articles, or academic papers in his name.
SOME CLAIMS ARE TRUE
The Green Hills University (GHU), Copenhagen, Denmark, confirmed to the ICIR through an email that “the student Michael Nwokolo graduated from us”. Collins Walsh of the Information Desk also replied that the university has an authorised campus in Nigeria.
Asked if he was at any point a professor or member of faculty, and additionally for details of this Nigerian campus, Walsh said: “Yes, he was a member of the faculty also. I don’t have much information about the Nigeria Station but I will check later with some colleagues who were dealing. Currently we are having a long break/holiday for renovation work and not easy to have my colleagues.”
Agumba Nwajei, President of GHU Africa Campus confirmed to the ICIR, as stated on their Facebook page, that courses are strictly online, and said what they have in Nigeria is an office for guidance and counselling, not a campus.
Wilson Esangbedo, Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Institute for Industrial Security (NIIS) also confirmed to the ICIR that Nwokolo’s claim to being a fellow and executive of the institute is correct and he is known to them.
Likewise, the Occupational Safety and Health Association (OSHA), United Kingdom, replied to similar enquiries in the affirmative. “This is to inform you that the above mentioned name is a confirmed Fellow of the Association, in Nigeria Region,” the Membership Team Unit wrote.
It is also true that Nwokolo has authored a book called “The Challenges of Kidnappings in Nigeria: Kidnapping is a Social Evil”. A picture of the book as well as another, “Unveiling the Power, Potency, Mysteries in Number and the Power in Names”, is uploaded on his Facebook wall.
Uploaded on LinkedIn: a flyer containing Nwokolo’s qualifications
SOME CLAIMS ARE NOT
Nwokolo says he is a Fellow, Chartered Fraud Examiners (FCFE); but there is no sign of this body online. There are however web references for an Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE). John Warren, Vice President and General Counsel of the association’s world headquarters, told the ICIR that, according to their records, “Michael Nwokolo has never been a member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners”. “We also do not offer a ‘FCFE’ designation, nor do we designate anyone as a ‘Fellow’ of the ACFE’, he added.
More so, there is no recognised Chartered Institute of Fraud Examiners in Nigeria. In 2017, the Nigerian Senate considered a bill to establish a Chartered Institute of Fraud Examiners, sponsored by senator Foster Ogola. However, the bill was eventually withdrawn after opposition from Dino Melaye, who insisted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was already performing the duties of the proposed institute.
Also, while Nwokolo says he is a member of the International School of Minis (MISOM), checks revealed there is no such school. What is closest to it is the Montessori in Nature International School (MINIS), which “offers authentic Montessori educational programs for families and children from birth to 6 years old”.
There is equally no such body as the Institute of Graphologist of Nigeria. There is, however, anInstitute of Graphoanalysts of Nigeria. But while Nwokolo says he is a ‘FIGAN’, according to their website, the Associates of this institute are called AInstGAN, while fellows are referred to as FInstGAN.
OTHERS ARE SUSPICIOUS
According to Nwokolo, he is a Fellow of the African Business School (FABS), Fellow Chartered Fraud Examiners (FCFE), and Fellow Chartered Institute of Leadership and Management (FCLIM). While no official website can be linked to any of these bodies, they appear to have something in common: the last two, according to this overview, are both institutes under the African Business School (ABS).
The ABS does not have any functional website but is listed on at least seven internet listing services and business directories: Nigeria Training Courses, Finelib, Business List, VConnect among others.
Additionally, Nwokolo’s claim to have graduated from the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ) are, at best, suspicious. He states that between 1998 and 1999, he was enrolled in a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration and Management at the NIJ. But the institute’s programmes as contained on its website has no mention at all of Business Administration or Management.
The NIJ also confirmed it only offers Mass Communication after a call was placed to its helpline. But it added that they offered other courses in the past and recommended a mail is sent so the examination officer can verify the details. The mail sent has however neither been acknowledged nor replied.
The ICIR has been unable to get reactions from the United Nations and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for which Nwokolo says he worked as a Chief Security Officer. Also, email enquiries sent to EdExcel University, Chartered Institute of Public Management of Nigeria, Institute of Business Technology Management of Nigeria, Chaplains Fellowship of Nigeria, Nigerian Institute of Management, and International Association of Chiefs of Police were not responded to.
’The Challenges of Kidnappings in Nigeria: Kidnapping is a Social Evil’ by Michael Nwokolo M.Sc Ph.D
NOT ALLOWED TO COMMENT
When one of his numbers was called by the ICIR, Nwokolo said he will invite the centre when he has an event as he is unable to comment. “I can’t report anything,” he said. “There is some restriction about me now. We want people not to write anything yet.”
“But if you want to see me, anytime you come into Lagos, I am in the force C.I.D, Alagbon, Lagos. I am a forensic expert. I lecture in UNILAG. I lecture in other universities. In November I will be lecturing in Benue State University; so I lecture in different places. Whenever you are in Lagos, just come. We’ll see and chat.”
Probed further, he maintained that he cannot give any comments, and added: “You must be very loyal to your boss, and you’re supposed to know I am very loyal to my bosses.”
MUHAMMADU Buhari, Nigeria’s President, loves to repeat a claim about oil prices averaging $100 from 1999 to 2014. This claim has been fact-checked and debunked but Buhari cannot stop his obsession with this disinformation.
On Tuesday when he received members of the Buhari Support Organisations (BSO) led by Hameed Ali, the Comptroller-General of Customs, at the Presidential Villa, Buhari repeated the claim and challenged everyone to verify it.
‘‘I challenge anybody to check from Europe, America and Asia; between 1999-2014, Nigeria was producing 2.1 million barrels of crude oil per day at an average cost of 100 USD per barrel and it went up to 143 USD. When we came, it collapsed to 37 – 38 USD and later was oscillating between 40 and 50 USD,” Buhari said.
In his 2017 Independence Day speech, Buhari said: “we should remind ourselves of the recent journey from 1999-2015 when our country happily returned to democratic rule. However, in spite of oil prices being an average of $100 per barrel and about 2.1 million barrels a day, that great piece of luck was squandered and the country’s social and physical infrastructure neglected.”
In November 2016 at the presentation of report on poverty reduction by Course 38 of National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, NIPSS, Kuru, Plateau State in the Presidential Villa, Buhari made the same claim.
He said then: “gentlemen, I have to digress now. For 16 years and eight consecutive governments of the other party, you know that there was unprecedented revenue realized. The oil projection which can be verified was 2.1 million barrels per day. 1999-2015, the average cost of each Nigerian barrel of oil was $100 per barrel. When we came it fell to less than $30 per barrel and is now oscillating between 40 and 50.”
In July 2015 when Buhari received Niger Delta Dialogue and Contact group led by King Alfred Diete-Spiff, he made the same misleading statement.
“He then talked about the impact of the collapse of the oil prices, which averaged about 100 US Dollars from 1999 to 2015, saying that its fall to about 30 Dollars a barrel some weeks ago was shocking. ‘I would have been in coma if not for the fact that I was in Oil (sector as a past minister) for three years,’” Garba Shehu, his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity wrote.
WIDE GAP BETWEEN $100 AND $61
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) which Nigeria is a member keeps a record of oil prices. In its Basket Price, OPEC publishes the weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly averages of oil prices based on daily quotations.
Based on OPEC data, the average crude oil price from 1999 to 2015 was $61 a barrel. The only time in history when average crude oil price reached $100 was in 2011 ($107), 2012 ($109.45) and 2013 ($105.87).
The highest price ever paid for crude oil was between June and July 2008 when a barrel of crude oil was sold around $130 to $147, although the average crude oil price in 2008 ended up being $94.45 per barrel.
In 1999 when the military handed over power to Olusegun Obasanjo, the average crude oil price was $16.56 per barrel. In 2003 when he was re-elected for a second term, average crude oil price rose to $28.05 per barrel and $69.08 per barrel in 2007. The average crude oil price during Obasanjo’s tenure from 1999 to 2007 was $37.18.
By 2008, during Musa Yar’Adua’s tenure, a barrel of average crude oil was $94.45 and later fell to $77. 45 when he died in 2010. During Yar’Adua’s tenure from 2007 to 2010, the average crude oil price was $75.51 per barrel.
Average crude oil price per barrel rose to $107 in 2011 and an all-time high of $109.45 in 2012 as well as $105.87 in 2013. It fell to $96.29 in 2014 and a very record low of $49.49 in 2015. From 2010 to 2015 during Goodluck Jonathan’s tenure, the average crude oil price per barrel was $91.
CONCLUSION: The average price of crude oil per barrel from 1999 to 2015 was $61, not $100 as Buhari has repeatedly claimed since he became president.
A video emerged online Wednesday, showing a scene where Ibrahim Idris, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), was struggling to read his speech at an event.
The video recording was done on Monday in Kano where Idris went to commission the Nigeria Police Force Technical Intelligence Unit.
The video was released by Voice of Liberty, an online media outfit with office in Abuja.
Idris was inarticulate and mumbling in the video: “I mean, transmission, I mean effort, that the transmission cooperation to transmission, I mean transmission to have effect, ehm, apprehend, I mean, apprehensive towards the recommendation, recommended formation effective and effect, I mean, apprehensive at the transmission of…and transmission and transmission for the effective in the police command.”
The widely circulating video on social media caused mixed reactions – disbelief, outrage, hilarity and absurdity.
POLICE CLAIMED VIDEO WAS DOCTORED
The only official reaction to the video by the police authority was a single replied tweet that the video was doctored when a Twitter user sought to ascertain the authenticity of the video.
Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the Senior Special Adviser to the President on Diaspora & Foreign Affairs also claimed that the video was doctored with special effect technique used to repeat a mistake made by the police chief.
“This video is definitely doctored, the error was made once, then special effects used to repeat it. What I don’t understand is why anyone would believe. Well, it’s a SM [Social Media] world,” she tweeted in reaction to Joe Abah who suggested that IGP might have a medical problem called dyslexia.
This particular tweet was no longer on her timeline when the ICIR checked on Saturday evening, suggesting that she has deleted it.
Since the video emerged, opinions have been divided on whether the video was manipulated or not. The police could have cleared the confusion by presenting the original video since they claimed the video was doctored.
FACT CHECKING VIDEO
The most available tools for fact-checking a video are mostly to check if a video is original. For example, reverse image search can be used to find out if there has been an original version of a video online. Another useful online tool to verify a video is the Amnesty International’s YouTube DataViewer which generates the thumbnails used by a video on YouTube and gives room to conduct a reverse image search on them.
In the case of IGP’s video, the online fact-checking tools cannot apply because it has been established that the video is not fake. Rather the contention is that it was manipulated.
The claim by Dabiri-Erewa that the IGP made the mistake once which gave the manipulators the chance to use special effect technique to repeat the mistake is not plausible. For this claim to be realistic, the repetition could have been uniform since he made the mistake once.
In video editing, the voice and image can be separated. The separated voice can be superimposed on the motion picture at any point. Therefore, the first mistake made by Idris can be separated and superimposed on the motion picture repeatedly. That is, the video will be showing changing scenes but the voice is superimposed from an earlier mistake.
If the mistake was made once and subsequently superimposed on the rest of the video, the repetition will be uniformed voice of that earlier mistake.
YES, VIDEO WAS EDITED
The ICIR reached out to the Voice of Liberty to find out whether the video was originally captured by the organisation or whether the video was sent to the media platform. The lady who answered the phone call said she was in the marketing department of the organisation but promised to get the appropriate person to respond to the ICIR’s inquiry. She never did.
In its website, Voice of Liberty says one of its principles include: “what we write, publish or broadcast shall not be divisive, hurtful, libelous or defamatory. We should be aware of the impact of our words and images on the lives of others and the peace of the Nation.”
The website is run by ATAR Communications Limited with an office address in Abuja.
An examination of the IGP’S video showed that the video was edited but was not manipulated. The only editing technique used in the video was cutting. The video was split and joined shortly before a man appeared to help Idris. Probably, this was done to reduce the duration of the video for easy sharing online.
A subsequent video shared by Voice of Liberty showed that the IGP struggled with his speech from the beginning by making unwarranted mistakes but got worse when he started reading from the written speech. Another video purportedly released by the police showed that he eventually discarded the written speech; nevertheless, he was struggling and repeating words but not as bad as when he was reading.
BASIS FOR DOUBTING THE VIDEO
If the video was released about a decade ago, nobody would have doubted the authenticity of the video. The emergence of reality-altering technologies has made it possible that videos can no longer be accepted on face value.
Supasorn Suwajanakorn, a researcher and his team from the University of Washington shocked the world last year by creating a fake video of Barrack Obama, former US President, by using a computer-generated version of Obama mapped to fit an audio recording.
In a paper published last year, Susajanakorn and his team described how they developed an algorithm that took audio and transposed it on to a 3D model of the president’s face.
The task was completed by a neural network, using 14 hours of Obama speeches and layering that data on top of a basic mouth shape.
Another fake video involving Jacob Zuma, former South African President, also circulated online last year. Zuma was made to look like he was trying to say the phrase “in the beginning” correctly.
While there are available technologies to create fake videos, none of these were used in the IGP’s video.
Apart from technologies, the fact that IGP has university degree and has been seen reading fluently in the past have made people to believe that the video was doctored.
CONCLUSION: The discernible editing on the IGP’s video was “cut and join”. This does not in any way suggest that the video was doctored as claimed by the police and the presidency.
