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.
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.
A FORMER Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Charles Soludo claimed he was a three-time winner of best central bank governor award.
Soludo who is a gubernatorial candidate, made the claim during a live debate by Arise TV, ahead of the Anambra State Governorship election scheduled to hold November 6.
THE CLAIM
Charles Soludo is a three-time winner of best central bank governor award.
THE FINDING
The FactCheckHub found the claim is True.
The CBN profile of Soludo states that he was the winner of the ‘Global’ and also the ‘African Central Bank Governor’ of the Year in 2005, 2006, and 2007 by by FT- Banker; Euromoney; and Annual Meetings Daily.
“He is the winner of the ‘Global and African Central Bank Governor of the Year, in 2005, 2006 and 2007 by different international media institutions including The Banker Magazine published by the Financial Times of London,” the profile reads.
Furthermore, Central Banking, a media platform that reports the activities of different central banks also has a similar report.
The award was also published by national media here and mentioned here.
In 2006, a press statement announcing another of the award was also issued by the CBN.
Soludo also included the fete in his resume published on a national daily.
THE VERDICT:
Based on these findings, Soludo’s claim on being three times winner of the best central bank governor award is True.
ON October 21, 2020, at about 8:26 pm an online publication, Eastern Telegraph shared a controversial quote attributed to the Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed.
The claim says it costs the Federal Government so much to bring the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu to court for prosecution.
An extension of the claim was the Department of State Services (DSS) demanded over N500 million for each court session.
“The FG might need to still borrow a little more from China to prosecute this case to a logical conclusion,” the claim stressed further.
The assertion ended with the hashtag CashOutScheme, with the minister’s photograph.
False Claim on the likelihood of FG seeking loan to fund Nnamdi Kanu’s prosecution. Photo Credit: Olugbenga Adanikin, The FactCheckHub.
THE CLAIM:
That Lai Mohammed said the Federal Government might borrow from China to prosecute IPOB leader.
THE FINDING:
The FactCheckHub found the claim is False.
No less than 279 people have reacted to the claim with 265 comments and 391 shares.
“This is the comedy of the century. N500 million naira to bring Nnamdi Kanu to the court for a single court sitting! So, the Fulani government of the north (FGN) will have to borrow to prosecute him! But they can’t borrow to fix our roads, power, refineries, hospitals, schools, etc.
“Too bad for Nigeria,” Boluwaji Tosin-Chris Adegasoye commented.
Maxwell Ndabo, another social media user wondered why the FG was still holding the secessionist leader if he was costing them that much. He said “If holding his is costing you that much, why not cut the cost by setting him free then? This government is trying, by all means, to cover their traces of corruption by making us believe that everything with them has a monetary value attached to it.
These and many more comments showed that a part of the public the quotation attributed to the minister.
Lai Mohammed is Nigeria’s Information and Culture Minister. He has in the recent past shared some misleading information. As such, he has developed trust issues with some members of the public.
Nnami Kanu is the IPOB leader, and supporter of the popular demand for secession of the southeast people. He has been on the government watch list following his agitations and was eventually arrested in 2021.
But a careful look at the claim shows, the quote was an extraction from what appeared to be a speech. Nevertheless, the public event or source from which the quote was extracted was not included in the post.
The DSS is an agency of the state, annually funded through the national budget. As such, that the DSS was demanding money from the federal government to prosecute an accused person is most unlikely.
Findings also show the platform has an agenda to either push for “Restructuring or Referendum.” This is contained in the ‘about’ section.
The FactCheckHub reached out on Thursday, October 28 to the publication – Eastern Telegraph through a direct channel on its Facebook page to verify the news. It was acknowledged but no feedback as of the time of this verification.
The same message was sent to the phone number found on the website but no feedback came. The phone number was later contacted and the publisher debunked it. He categorised the quote as fake and untrue.
Though, he identified himself as Emeka, TrueCaller recognises him as Chikezie Kizito. He said most of those who post on the platform were Biafrans and they are at liberty to post anything. “Anyone who reads it will know it does not make any sense. So, it is not true. In fact, I don’t manage the page.”
However, contrary to what he said, the post in question was made by the medium and not a commenter.
The FactCheckHub queried why he does not manage the page, yet his phone number was on the report. He said he had many of the platforms. Eventually, he told The FactCheckHub the post would be taken down.
Segun Adeyemi, Special Assistant to the President (Media) in the Office of the Minister of Information and Culture also debunked the claim. He described it as false when the FactCheckHub reached out to him.
“This is fake news!”. Adeyemi responded.
THE VERDICT
Based on the findings, there is no evidence to support the claim that the federal government is seeking a Chinese loan to fund the prosecution of IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu. Therefore the claim is FALSE.
Ray Ekpu, a veteran journalist and former Co-founder of Newswatch Magazine on Wednesday tasked journalists from the mainstream media to build capacity on fact-checking.
The skill, he said remains vital to stop the spread of fake news, especially through social media.
He gave the advice during training on Conflict-Sensitive Reporting organised by the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) in Abuja. The media trainer emphasized journalism is not gossip making but critical reporting backed up with evidence.
“Traditional media must provide themselves with the right capacity to do fact-checking. It is the source of their credibility as believable media.”
“Journalism is not gossiping, but fact,” Ekpu stated.
According to him, “facts are sacred. A comment is free. So, they (media) must provide themselves with the capacity to cross-check claims.”
He said unlike the popular say that when in doubt, leave out, his philosophy is when in doubt, check, and check again.
“Credible truthful information should go to the public through traditional media rather than visiting ephemeral media such as social media that just do breaking news, and nothing is breaking really. Even when there is a mistake, they do not correct it. They just continue.”
Speaking further on the need for verification, the public needed to understand the difference between genuine stories and misinformation. “And when they are considered to be fake, people will begin to withdraw their support for them.”
He said though he still relies on the traditional media, once there is breaking news on social media he takes to the regular traditional media and also visit multiple credible media organisations if a similar report was already published.
The journalist criticised the usual practice of hoarding information from the media, especially by government establishments.
“Government is doing itself major harm by not disclosing a lot of information, particularly on insecurity. How are journalists ought to know what they (military) have done at the war-front?” He queried.
“They are the one who issues press releases.”
He recalled during the Nigerian civil war, the Nigerian journalists were at the war front, covering the crisis.
Describing the profession as risky, he said the risks are enormous, as such “government must open up to provide credible information.
ON SATURDAY, October 23, 2020, when Baze University, Abuja, had her combined 7th and 8th convocation ceremony, a viral post circulated online that a former Nigerian Senator, Dino Melaye, had graduated from the institution with a first-class honours.
The claim which was shared on Twitter and Facebook by different users also asserted that the former senator emerged as the best graduating law student of the institution.
Similarly, the news of Melaye emerging as the best law student at Baze University was published on Peoples Gazette.
“Mr Melaye’s aide, Bode Gbadebo, posted a picture of him on Facebook, alongside other individuals adorned in an academic dress, with the caption “Senator Dino Melaye graduates from Baze University, emerges best graduating law student,” the news read in part.
THE CLAIM
Dino Melaye made first-class honours, emerged best graduating law student at Baze University.
A screenshot of one of the claims.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is false.
The Fact-CheckHub during a fact-finding mission to Baze University found out that the former lawmaker did not graduate with a first-class honours degree and was not the best graduating law student of the institution.
The school’s registrar Mani Ibrahim Ahmad, who spoke with The FactCheckHub stated that those that graduated with first-class honours had ‘First-Class’ boldly written in front of their names in the school convocation ceremony programme booklet.
Ahmad added that, same goes for those that graduated as best graduating student in each department.
“The convocation programme booklet already clarified those that graduated with first class, as well as those that graduated as best graduating student in each department,” Ahmad noted.
The FactCheckHub also checked the convocation programme booklet for verification. From the booklet, it was observed that Melaye was among the 91 law students that made the university’s 8th convocation list.
Ten of the 91 students graduated with first-class honours, the senator was not part of them.
Senator Dino Melaye’s is number 7 on the list at page 37 of Baze University 7th and 8th convocation booklet.
Furthermore, the lawmaker did not graduate as the best law student either as that was Rosemary Keccy Busari who graduated as best in the department and and in the faculty.
Number 77 shows the best graduating law student as Rosemary Busari.
THE VERDICT
The claim that Dino Melaye made first-class honours and emerged best graduating law student at Baze University is FALSE.
IN Nigeria, a memorial was held on the anniversary of what has come to be known as the 2020 Lekki shooting.
The incident happened when security forces came to dispel a protest, christened EndSARS, primarily championed by youth against police brutality.
In Abuja, the memorial was held at Unity Fountain where they marched towards the National Assembly complex, while in Lagos they drove through the Lekki Toll Gate.
However, on the same day, the Nigerian Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed held a press conference where he made numerous claims about the Lekki Toll Gate incident.
The FactCheckHub verified these claims.
Claim 1:
The military did not shoot at protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate on Oct. 20 2020.
The minister during his speech made on Wednesday, October 20, 2021 stated that the military did not shoot at protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate .
He said, “With the preponderance of evidence against any massacre at the Lekki Toll Gate on Oct. 20th 2020, we are once again reiterating what we said one year ago, that: The military did not shoot at protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate on Oct. 20th 2020.”
FINDINGS show that the military men actually shot at protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate on Oct.20, 2020. Multiple reports from both national and international media revealed.
For instance, the BBC stated that the military men were shooting into the air where the protesters were gathered on the said day.
“Before we left the scene, they [military] were shooting into the air and while we were trying to find a safe cover, I saw a young man who seemed to be struggling for breath.
“I think what must have caused his situation must have been the sudden shock of the sporadic shooting from the military and of course the environment was tense.
“The shooting continued for about 20 minutes and we had to lie on our chests and move away from the crowd because of the high risk of stampede. My editor had to approach one of the soldiers to identify us as journalists before they allowed us a safe pass. We could only do that after about 20- 25 minutes of continuous shooting,” the report read in part.
Similarly, the protesters who were present at the Lekki Toll Gate on October 20, 2020 told the CNN that the military men shoot at them while at the protest ground.
Also, a former spokesman of the Nigerian Army Sani Usman, said that the soldiers fired blank bullets at the Lekki Toll Gate where the protesters were present. He clarified that the soldiers shot blank bullets and not live ammunition.
THE VERDICT: The claim is FALSE. Multiple reports show that the military shoot at protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate on Oct. 20 2020.
Claim 2:
There were neither bodies nor blood from Lekki Toll Gate incident
The minister in his speech also said “…And there was no massacre at the toll gate. The only ‘massacre’ recorded was in the social media, hence there were neither bodies nor blood.”
FINDINGS show that some protesters sustained injuries and some died. This was reported by both indegenous and foreign media.
Investigative journalist Fisayo Soyombo in a three-part series, revealed names and faces of some of the dead. He also documented those that sustained injuries at the October 20, 2020, incident.
Similarly, CNN reported with graphic imagery of injury and death from the incident.
Furthermore, the Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in an interview here and here admitted that two people were killed from Lekki shootings.
THE VERDICT: The claim is FALSE. Multiple reports show that people died and some others sustained injuries from the Lekki Toll Gate incident.
MULTIPLE posts on social media claim that a bandit has been recruited into the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
The posts have a photo collage made-up of a screenshot of a Customs officer and that of a bandit which was taken alongside the governor of Katsina state, Bello Masari.
One of the post made on Facebook reads; “From bandit to Customs, no interview, nothing just express terrorist government”.
Another on Twitter archived here reads; “Can you imagine? From bandit to Customs officer”.
The tweet made by Odinakabiafra with the handle @odinakabiafra2 has received over 2000 engagements with more than half of it on retweets.
THE CLAIM
The bandit was recruited into the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
The claim on Facebook and Twitter.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is false.
Nigeria has been plagued by banditry on one side and the Boko Haram insurgency on another.
In a bid to solve the menace, government at various levels deployed different tactics which include peace negotiations with bandits and deradicalisation scheme which seeks to reintegrate Boko haram defectors into the society through Operation safe corridor programme.
These tactics, have been met with resistance from some quarters, who say the bandits or insurgents now christened ‘Repentant Boko haram’ or ‘Repentant Bandits’ are getting a bargain at the expense of law abiding citizens.
The claim making round is birthed from this atmosphere.
Findings show that the bandit in the picture with Masari, the governor of Katsina is known as ‘Buharin Daji’ who was a kingpin within Zamfara and Katsina states until his death.
The picture was taken during one of the numerous peace and reconciliation negotiations.
Katsina State Governor, Bello Masari photographed with Buharin Daji during a peace negotiation.
The second image was a screenshot from a viral video, which shows a disoriented customs officers in what appears to be a formal setting made up of different security agencies.
Screenshot from the video where the Officer appears disoriented.
The officer appears to not know the procedure of when to salute, go for a handshake or whom to salute. This generated comments on social media that a “novice” was recruited without going through any formal training.
Comment on the officer’s behaviour.Comments resulting from the officer’s behaviour.
The NCS has however debunked the allegation that he was a bandit and or that he is a novice. In a statement, the Customs Public Relations Officer, Joseph Attah, said “for the avoidance of doubt, the Officer in question was recruited through a rigorous process and trained in 2011 and has just grown to the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Customs, (3 stars)”.
Furthermore, the FactCheckHub enhanced and compared the faces from the two images and observed that their facial features like nose, eyes, ears and forehead are different.
An enhanced and zoom in image shows the facial difference between the two.
THE VERDICT
The claim that Customs officer in the video is the same person as the bandit is FALSE.
The President of Nigeria Muhammadu Buhari at the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) made numerous claims about the progress and achievements of his administration including effort made to combat COVID-19.
The FactCheckHub checked his claims in relation to COVID-19 and the country’s response.
Claim 1:
COVID-19 test Centres in Nigeria rose from 4 to 140 centres
During his speech made on September 24, 2020 in New York, Buhari told delegates about his administration efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic which he noted was “rewarded with moderate success”.
He said “At the outset, we recognised detection and contact tracing to be important tools in combating the virus. In this connection, from a mere four laboratories with testing and detection capacities, we ramped up the facilities to over 140 centres today.”
However as as September 25, the testing centres have increased to 150. There are 84 COVID-19 public laboratories, 58 approved fee-based private laboratories and eight corporate laboratories. These sums up to 150.
THE VERDICT: The claim that testing and detection centre for COVID-19 ramped up to over 140 is TRUE.
Claim 2:
Over 40, 000 health care workers trained on infection, prevention and control measures
President Buhari also noted his administration’s effort in building the capacity of health workers. He said “in addition, over 40,000 health care workers have recently been trained on Infection, Prevention and Control measure with the support of various partners.”
FINDINGS: Media reports indicate that over 40,000 heath workers have been trained across the country in connection to COVID-19 management, prevention and vaccination.
In August, the Executive Director of the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), Faisal Shuaib, told the press that “We are currently wrapping up the training of about 40,739 health workers across the national, state and ward levels on our phase two strategic vaccine roll out plan with focus on improving the delivery, communication, data management, management of the vaccines and logistics that are needed.”
At various points since the pandemic different government officials, partners and international bodies spoke about trainings of health workers.
The National Secretary of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) Phillips Ekpe told the FactCheckHub in an interview confirmed that different categories of health workers across the country were trained. He however could not state the exact number.
THE VERDICT: Reports indicate that over 40,000 health workers in Nigeria have been trained in various capacity. Therefore, the claim is TRUE.
Claim 3
Nigeria has established 16 infectious disease treatment centres
President Buhari also noted that the country established 16 infectious centres, He said “Through the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, we have established 16 infectious disease treatment centres located within our Teaching Hospitals and Federal Medical Centres (FMC).”
FINDINGS: The FactCheckHub reached out to the spokesperson of the NCDC, Emeka Oguano to verify the claim, but he referred to the department of hospital services at the Federal Ministry of Health, even though, the president said these centres were established through them.
Deputy Director of Information at the federal ministry of health, Segun Adetola also did not respond when he was contacted.
In June the NCDC said it commissioned it fifth infectious disease treatment centre in 2021 while 11 more were at various stages of developments. This was during the commissioning of the facility in FMC Katsina.
In December 2020, an infectious disease treatment centre was established at FMC Keffi in Nasarawa state. Prior to that, an infectious disease centre was commissioned at the University of Abuja Teaching hospital.
A check through the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) database of emergency projects awarded for the containment and treatment of COVID-19 show that the infectious disease treatment and isolation centre at the Federal Medical Centre in Owerri, Imo State has also been completed.
THE VERDICT: The claim is TRUE.The FactCheckHub can confirm that the country has 16 infectious diseases treatment centres.
The Vice President of Nigeria, Yemi Osinbajo on Monday, October 11, 2021, said Inflation in the country trended downwards over the last five months.
This statement generated murmurs as it was made on the heels of rising cost of living in Nigeria. In September, for instance, the cost of cooking gas rose by over 10 percent in less than two months.
THE CLAIM
Inflation in Nigeria trended downwards over the last five months.
THE FINDINGS
Osinbajo who spoke during the Mid-Term Ministerial Performance Review Retreat, said “inflation has trended downwards over the last five months falling into about 17 percent during the second quarter of this year although food inflation as you know is still very troubling and food production and supply has been affected by security challenges.”
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that there was a slight decrease in inflation within the reference period.
Nigeria’s inflation data visualised by Trading Economics.
Data from the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics show that Nigeria’s annual inflation rate eased for a fifth straight as at when Osinbajo made the statement.
It reduced to 17.01 per cent in August 2021, from 17.38 per cent in the the pervious month, July. It was the lowest inflation rate since January despite the naira’s exchange rate falling at the parallel market.
This was the trend April to August as the preceding months all showed reduction.
Data released by the NBS after Osinbajo’s statement showed a continued downward trend of inflation to the sixth month. September recorded 16.63 per cent, from 17.01 per cent in August. This represents a 0.38 per cent points drop from the previous month.
Inflation trend showing a drop in September making it the sixth month. Visualisation by The ICIR.
THE VERDICT
The claim that Nigeria’s inflation trended downwards over the last five months is TRUE.
A claim is circulating on social media that the government is giving students and business owners who are within the 13 to 65 age bracket N150,000 to N550,000 grant.
This it says the government is doing under a supposed National Youth Empowerment Fund (NYEF). It called on interested applicants to fill an online application.
This claim which has been shared repeatedly on WhatsApp and other platforms reads: (SIC) “The National Youth Empowerment Funds is vision into giving out N150,000 to N550,000 grant to every citizen under the age of 13-65 years from 2021 – 2024.”
It added that “October payments has began for those that have registered, register to be part of the beneficiaries.”
THE CLAIM
Government is disbursing N150,000 to N550,000 grant to student and business owners who are between 13 t0 65 age range.
A screenshot of the claim circulated on WhatsApp.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show the claim is false.
Aside the grammatical errors, the content of the broadcast message shared on WhatsApp is self contradictory.
It initially stated that the fund is a minimum of N150,000 and maximum of N550,000, but in the next paragraph where it delineates what each age bracket can get, it stated that those within the 25-65 age brackets gets N400,000 to N700,000. The maximum figure has shifted.
Furthermore, a look at the website the claim directs too has similar features with the websites The FactCheckHub has verified and found to be false here, here, here, and here.
The website after completing the form redirected to an adult content platform.
In addition even though it incorporated logos and graphics from the Federal Government-led Nigeria Youth Investment Fund , all the menu tabs of the website redirects to the same form page archived here. A click on the ‘Home page’, ‘Events’ and ‘Mail Us’ tab on the menu redirects to the same page which contains a black background, white texts, a form and congratulations to visitors.
This is an observed feature on fraudulent and phishing websites where the the tabs or social media icons do not do what they are supposed to do.
The tabs on the menu all redirects to this page.
Furthermore the broadcast message in circulation as well as the website are laced with grammatical and typographical errors.
An earlier report by The FactCheckHub captures how to spot and why such websites masquerading as what they are not abound and circulates primarily on WhatsApp.
THE VERDICT
Although federal and states government in Nigeria have several empowerment programmes and schemes meant to support youths and small businesses, the claim in circulation is not one of them. It is therefore FALSE.
ON the 2nd of October 2021, a tweet that claimed a groomsman wearing earrings left a wedding ceremony because he was told it was not allowed in the church went viral.
The tweet archived here, which was made by @ChefOpeyemi with the user name ‘Food Critic’ reads: “At a Baptist Church in Isolo, groomsman duties and the reverend just told me I’m not allowed to wear earrings in church. I calmly left the church, guess it’ll be the reception for me. Shout out to Nigerian Christianity, and hope they have fine dining restaurants in hell.”
This created a buzz on social media with some people praising the church for taking a stand while admonishing him to abide by the rules and some doubting if the incident actually happened as it may be a fabricated story for clout.
It is not unheard of for people to fabricate stories for social media clout or gain, hence, the FactCheckHub verified the claim.
THE CLAIM
Groomsman was not allowed to attend a church wedding for wearing earrings.
A screenshot of the viral tweet.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is TRUE.
A Twitter user, Adelere Victoria in a tweet archived here confirmed that the incident happened in her church.
She said during the thanksgiving service held the next day, a Sunday, the pastor prayed for Opeyemi. “He even told the groom at their thanksgiving in church today that tell that your friend that I love him”, she noted.
In a separate tweet archived here, Adelere identified the church as Victoryland Baptist Church located at Qudus Folawiyo street in Isolo, Lagos state.
Opeyemi, in his now viral tweet, had noted that the incident happened at a ‘Baptist church’ in ‘Isolo’.
Another Twitter user, who alleged Opeyemi was chasing clout in a tweet archived here shared a photo of Opeyemi and a man he referred to as the pastor. The photo was taken in what appears to be the church premises with the groom and bridal party in the background.
The groomsman, Opeyemi with the pastor at the church premises. Photo via Twitter.Image of the Baptist church retrieved via Google Street View showing window pane and wall colour similar to the ones in the image above.
The part of the building that can be seen in the photo has similarities in terms of the wall and window colours as well as the window framing from image of the Victoryland Baptist Church seen using Google Street View.
Multiple videos posted on the Facebook page of Victoryland Baptist Church has the man Opeyemi took a photo with either preaching or talking to a congregation. One of the video has a chest caption ‘Rev’d Dr Femi Ajayi’.
The FactCheckHub also called the number on the church’s Facebook page to confirm if the incident truly happened there. The person who picked up the phone call but declined to disclose his name said “I had done what the Bible teaches by correcting him lovingly and he had the right to adhere to instruction or not”.
A check on Truecaller – a web and mobile app-based platform for verifying contacts and blocking unwanted communication – shows ‘Femi Ajayi’ as the name on the number. Further checks using the WhatsApp platform shows the same Femi Ajayi and the profile photo is also that of the man Opeyemi took the photo (as shown above) with.
THE VERDICT
The claim is TRUE; the groomsman was not allowed into Victoryland Baptist Church because he wore earrings.
