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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.
ANAMBRA state holds its governorship election on Saturday, November 6, 2021. A media house tweeted that voting is not taking place in one of its towns, Aguleri as everyone is indoor.
The tweet by Sahara Reporters archived here reads, “People are refusing to vote, everybody is indoor in Aguleri area of Anambra state.”
THE CLAIM
No voting in Aguleri, as everyone is indoor.
The claim on Twitter.
THE FINDING
Findings by the FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE.
Media reports indicate that the Anambra State Governor Willie Obiano and his wife were at Aguleri where they cast their votes.
The reports stated that Obiano arrived at his polling unit at around 9:28 am at Eri Primary School, Unit 004, Otuocha 1, in Aguleri where he joined the queue and eventually voted a few minutes later.
Obiano also addressed the press and spoke about voter turnout.
In addition, tweets archived here and here show that election materials arrived at some parts of Aguleri as early as 7:38am. Subsequently, voting commenced.
Presiding Officer, Linda Akudo photographed reading out the polling procedure at Unit 004, Otuocha 1, Aguleri, Anambra East. SOURCE: ICIR/PTCIJ MiNE Project.
Furthermore, a source in Aguleri confirmed to The FactCheckHub that people were outdoor, and voting was ongoing at 10:30am on Saturday.
Contrary to the tweet posted by the media platform, voting was ongoing in Aguleri and the state governor had even voted before the tweet was sent out.
CANDIDATE of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the forthcoming November 6, governorship election in Anambra, Andy Uba, says he sponsored the Prison Reform Bill.
He made the claim while reacting to assertions by the governorship candidate of All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) Charles Soludo, during a live debate organised by Arise TV and Enough is Enough (EiE) group.
Soludo had accused Uba of being docile on issues relating to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and agitations of the southeast people.
THE CLAIM
Andy Uba sponsored the Prison Reform Bill
THE FINDING
The FactCheckHub found that Uba’s claim is true.
In 2011, Andy Uba contested for the seat of Anambra South Senatorial District under the platform of the People Democratic Party (PDP).
He was later declared the winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) after an initial legal tussle.
Aside from being a lawmaker in the 7th National Assembly, he also represented his constituent in the 8th Assembly. He was former Chairman, Senate Committee on Interior.
In August 2019, he told the media in an interview why he sponsored the bill which later changed the Nigerian Prisons Service to the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS).
“The bill also empowers the State Comptroller of Prisons to reject additional prisoners where the prison in question is already filled to capacity.
“As the new name suggests, more emphasis will now be placed on correcting inmates through various skills acquisition programs such as tailoring, shoemaking, carpentry, computer engineering among others,” he stated in the interview.
A list of other bills sponsored and co-sponsored by the lawmaker can be found here.
The bill was later signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari in September 2019.
THE VERDICT
Based on the available findings, Andy Uba sponsored the Prison Reform Bill. Therefore, the claim is TRUE.
A FORMER governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Chukwuma Charles Soludo during the Anambra state gubernatorial debate said the state has the lowest unemployment and underemployment rates in Nigeria.
Soludo who is a candidate in the election slated for November 6, said “Anambra state has the lowest unemployment of any state in Nigeria at 13 per cent” and that “Anambra state has the lowest under-employment rate at 17 per cent of any state in Nigeria”.
He clarified that he was making reference to 2020 and his source is the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
THE CLAIMS
Anambra State has the lowest unemployment rate 13 per cent and the lowest underemployment rate at 17 per cent of any state in Nigeria.
A screenshot from the debate.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claims are misleading because Soludo made reference to an old set of data.
The data he referenced are actually from the second quarter (Q2) of 2020.
The 2020 Q2 data showed that Anambra has the lowest of unemployment rate at 13.1 per cent and also the lowest underemployment rate at 17 per cent.
Screenshot of National Bureau of Statistics document, unemployment and underemployment Q2, 2020.
After the Q2 labour statistics, the NBS released the Q4 statistics.
In the Q4 data, Anambra’s unemployment rate is 44.23 per cent while the underemployment rate is 16.48 per cent.
Furthermore, Anambra was not the lowest as Osun has 11.65 per cent unemployment rate, while Lagos has 4.52 per cent underemployment rate.
Screenshot of National Bureau of Statistics document, unemployment and underemployment Q2, 2020.
THE VERDICT
The claims made by Soludo at the debate that Anambra has the lowest unemployment rate at 13 per cent and the lowest underemployment rate at 17 per cent of any state in Nigeria are MISLEADING.
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.
