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Do Nigerians enjoy 18 to 24 hours of power supply daily?

Opeyemi Kehinde
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Do Nigerians enjoy 18 to 24 hours of power supply daily?

NIGERIA’s minister of Power, Sale Mamman, had on June 9 claimed that Nigerians now enjoy 18 to 24 hours of power supply daily.

He made the claim while featuring in an interview with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), according to a news report published by ThisDay newspaper. The interview was also published by other news media including Daily Times of Nigeria, RipplesNigeria, etc.

The claim generated a lot of public debate and reactions from Nigerians.

 

THE CLAIM

“…Before this government, they gave light for less than 10 hours a day, but today I can tell you that we give light from 18 to 24 hours in a day,” Mamman was quoted in the news report.

Mamman added: “Before now, we had less than 3,000mw of capacity generation but today we can generate up to 5,500mw capacity although we cannot transmit all due to some constraints.”

The minister made three claims. They are:

  1. Nigerians have light (electricity) for 18 to 24 hours daily in this government (post-2015)
  2. Nigeria had less than 3,000MW of (electricity) capacity generation before this government (pre-2015)
  3. As of June 2020, Nigeria can generate up to 5,500MW of (electricity) capacity.
Engr. Sale Mamman, Nigeria's Minister of Power.
Engr. Sale Mamman, Nigeria’s Minister of Power.

 

THE FINDINGS

Claim 1

Checks by The ICIR revealed that most Nigerians get electricity for an average of 19 hours daily during the second week of June 2020 when the Minister made the claim, but none got 24 hours power supply daily, according to the data obtained from the Independent Energy Watch Initiative (I-WIN) on June 16.

I-WIN is an enterprise of Energy ConServ and the Roundtable for the Growth and Development of Power (RODEP) – an online-based power sector portal that strives to engage stakeholders and the Nigerian public on topical issues in the power sector.

According to the data, the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (Enugu Disco), which covers its five franchise states, namely: Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo, had the least daily power supply of 17hours during the second week of June 2020.

Similarly, Ikeja Distribution Company (Ikeja Disco) which covers Lagos North had the highest daily power supply of 22 hours during the same period.

Screenshot of I-WIN website on June 16, 2020.

Responding to a telephone enquiry from The ICIR on how it calculates the average daily hours of power supply in Nigeria as displayed on its website, an I-WIN official, Chidi Ike, said the data were based on energy supplied to the 33Kva feeders across the federation by the electricity distribution companies.

“We may not be able to divulge our methodologies to a third party without all the necessary agreements. However, suffice to state that data for the calculation come from industry statistics from responsible government organizations,” Ike stated in a subsequent email enquiry following the phone conversation.

I-WIN on its website noted that “the hours of power supply availability derived above is based on Multi-Year Tariff Order (MYTO) allocation and on the assumption that load is distributed evenly among all registered customers.”

The ICIR reports that the I-WIN regularly updates its website weekly with “Average Hours of Power Supply made available to State capitals and major cities in Nigeria.”

The 19 hours average hours of electricity supply is not applicable to all the duration and cities post 2015.

Further findings by The ICIR revealed that the average power supply was 11 hours daily with some places having as low as 4 hours daily in September 2018. This was during the first tenure of President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, contrary to the claim by the minister.

Similarly, an Opinion Poll on social media created by Adetutu Balogun, a Twitter user with the handle @Tutsy22, on June 18 – days after the minister made the claim – showed that 56 per cent of the respondents which is 2,223 of the total 3,969 votes had less than 6 hours of power supply daily.

In addition, the ‘Nigeria Living Standards Survey – 2018/2019’ released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday (July 8, 2020) stated that Nigerians only enjoy an average of 6.8 hours of electricity supplied to them from the national grid daily.

Screenshot of the Opinion Poll on Twitter.

The survey, carried out in collaboration with the World Bank, collated responses from about 22,110 households which cut across the 36 states of the federation.

It noted that slightly over 63 percent of households said they have access to electricity from various sources as the numbers vary depending on location. For instance, in Taraba state, only 19.2 percent of households reported having electricity, compared with the over 98 percent of households with access to the power supply in Lagos.

“Respondents of the survey also reported having experienced 10 blackouts in the past 7 days with an average duration of 12 hours,” the Business Day newspaper reported.

 

Claim 2

A fact-check done earlier by Africa Check in November 2014 stated that Nigeria’s Presidential Task Force on Power recorded generation of 3,800 MW in December 2013, adding that as of 28 October 2013, it was generating 4,327MW. It however puts the nation’s installed generation capacity in December 2013 at 6,953MW.

Chart showing Nigeria’s Electricity installed capacity (1980 – 2017). CREDITS: U.S. EIA.

Electricity generation capacity, according to the United States Energy Information Administration (EIA), is the maximum electric output an electricity generator can produce under specific conditions.

Whereas “electricity generation is the amount of electricity a generator produces during a specific period of time. For example, a generator with 1 megawatt (MW) capacity that operates at that capacity consistently for one hour will produce 1 megawatthour (MWh) of electricity. If the generator operates at only half that capacity for one hour, it will produce 0.5 MWh of electricity. Many generators do not operate at their full capacity all the time. A generator’s output may vary according to conditions at the power plant, fuel costs, and/or as instructed by the electric power grid operator,” it stated on its website.

Further data obtained by The ICIR shows that Electricity Production in Nigeria averages at 6,890 GWh from Mar 2005 to Dec 2019, adding that the data reached an all-time high of 9,936 GWh in Sep 2015 and a record low of 3,247 GWh in Jun 2009.

Contrary to the minister’s claim, peak electricity generation first attained the 5,000MW threshold in 2012, according to a Daily Trust newspaper report.

Chart showing Nigeria’s Electricity net generation (1980 – 2017). CREDITS: U.S. EIA.

Although The ICIR could not independently ascertain if the minister meant the pre-1999 era when he said “before now,” but data from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) revealed that electricity generation in 1999 stood at only 1,750 MW while installed capacity stood at 5,906 MW.

Based on all available data, it is evident that Nigeria actually had over 3,000MW of (electricity) capacity generation before President Buhari assumed power in 2015.

 

Claim 3

Data obtained from the website of NERC shows that Nigeria currently has a total installed electricity generation capacity of over 20,000MW, but with an available capacity of over 12,000MW.

Chart showing Nigeria’s Electricity capacity by fuel-type (2008 – 2017). CREDITS: U.S. EIA.

“The generation sub-sector presently includes 23 grid-connected generating plants in operation with a total installed capacity of 10,396 MW (available capacity of 6,056 MW) with thermal-based generation having an installed capacity of 8,457.6MW (available capacity of 4,996 MW) and hydropower having 1,938.4 MW of total installed capacity with an available capacity of 1,060 MW. This comprises of the privatized GenCos, Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and the generating stations under the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP).

“IPPs are power plants managed by the private sector prior to the privatisation process. These include Shell-operated – Afam VI (642MW), Agip operated – Okpai (480MW), Ibom Power, NESCO and AES Barges (270MW),” it stated on the website.

This was corroborated by data from USAID’s Power Africa Fact Sheet on Nigeria which was last updated in April 2020, as well as from the European Union-supported GET.invest website and document.

Daily Trust also reported that while GenCos, Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and the DisCos claim to have over 5,000MW power supply capacity, none has delivered that to electricity consumers across the nation. It added that the highest peak electricity ever generated is 5,375MW on February 7, 2019.

The report noted that as of Tuesday, June 23, 2020, statistics show that generated electricity on the national grid was 4,693MW, but fell to 2,642MW the same day.

Between January and June 2020, the peak daily power generation which was witnessed in April 2020 was 5,316MW, as reported by Punch.

When contacted via email by The ICIR, the I-WIN official stated that “as at six years ago (2014), we had not started monitoring hours of power supply availability. So, it may be difficult to state if the figures have improved. However, from a general non-committal perspective, one can safely state the little or nothing has improved.”

Map showing Nigeria’s Electricity Distribution Companies. CREDITS: NERC.

But can Nigeria generate up to 5,500MW of electricity capacity?

Yes!, says Dr. Joy Ogaji, the Executive Secretary, Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC), thus corroborating the minister’s claim.

She told The ICIR on Thursday that over 13,000MW is the current installed (electricity) capacity of the GenCos on the national grid in the country.

“The over 13,000MW is the current installed capacity of the GenCos on the grid. Generation is at the instance of the off-taker or buyer of the power. Again, full payment of the power taken helps the investors to increase production,” Dr. Ogaji said.

She added that there are constraints facing the power supply sector in the country.

“The market is faced with financial, operational, construction, market, macroeconomic, contract and regulatory risks. Given that, decisions about investments in power generating capacity depend on expected returns and costs, the illiquid state of the NESI in addition to the fact that all plants are performing below optimum does not encourage the discourse of capacity utilization at all.

“Hence, GenCos can and are willing to generate the over 13,000MW if they are paid as at when due and transmission and distribution cannot take those power generated. Electricity as you know is not bottled. It is instantaneous and dependent on demand.

“Nigeria’s potential to become one of the world’s best economy is dependent on energy use. The NESI should therefore focus on maximizing capacity utilization, so as to achieve lowered power generation costs and in the process address the existing excess capacities,” the APGC scribe told The ICIR.

 

THE VERDICT

From all data obtained, The ICIR is able to confirm that:

  1. The claim that Nigerians enjoy electricity for 18 to 24 hours daily, post-2015, is MOSTLY FALSE.
  2. The claim that Nigeria had less than 3,000MW capacity (electricity) generation before 2015 is FALSE.
  3. The claim that Nigeria can, as of June 2020, generate up to 5,500MW of (electricity) capacity peak is TRUE.

Viral video on snow incident in Lagos is FALSE

Olugbenga ADANIKIN
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Viral video on snow incident in Lagos is FALSE

A video clip shared on July 8 by Sahara Reporters has gone viral on social media. The footage headlined: “Video: Snow-like Chemical Surge Causes Panic in Lagos” shows snow-like foams that purportedly prevented Lagosians from accessing their homes. As of the time of filing this report, the video has garnered 12,011 views on YouTube and has gone viral on Whatsapp.

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Claim about snow in Lagos is FALSE

Olugbenga ADANIKIN
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Claim about snow in Lagos is FALSE

A VIDEO clip shared on July 8 by Sahara Reporters has gone viral on social media. The footage headlined: “Video: Snow-like Chemical Surge Causes Panic in Lagos” shows snow-like foams that purportedly prevented Lagosians from accessing their homes.

As of the time of filing this report, the video has garnered 12,011 views on YouTube and has gone viral on Whatsapp.

The spilled substance. Photo Source: Lagos State Government

CLAIM

Arising from the footage, many have claimed that it is snowing in Lagos.

FINDINGS

Close examination of the video footage revealed there were two separate videos merged as one.

The first part of the footage showed the snow-like foamy substance truly blocking the entrance to people’s homes. Underground female voices called for help in panic.

Someone was also being helped down the ladder from a storey-building apartment.

The second part of the video revealed a typical snow-like foam covering the major highway. But further findings showed it was not snowing, unlike the claim in the second video footage.

Meanwhile, the snow-like material is a foam often used by firefighters to suppress fire incidents.

Though the foam is not unusual for fire control, it is mainly recognised as Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) solutions which could also cause health hazards if wrongly managed.

Findings revealed that the AFFF blanket blocks oxygen supply to inflammable petroleum materials. It suppresses fuel vapour through aqueous film and produces a cooling effect as part of the fire suppressing measures.

The United States Fire Administration, an institution of government that works to prevent fire outbreaks says AFFF could be a combination of Per and polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) – the Perfluorooctane Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctanesulfonic Acid (PFOS) but warned against long term exposure to the chemicals.

The accident scene
Photo Source: Gbenga Omotoso, Commissioner for Information and Strategy

The ICIR reached out to Gbenga Omotoso, the Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy to clarify the viral footage and the exact incident. But contrary to the popular belief, he said the incident could be an outcome of a chemical reaction to avert a fire incident.

He said a truck approaching from the Lagos Sea Port fell due to an accident along Anthony axis. The truck, he noted was conveying an inflammable material, so the Lagos State Fire Service was deployed to intervene. The firefighters reportedly sprayed the AFFF on the spilled content to avoid fire incident.

“There was an accident involving Petroleum Tanker with heavy Petroleum spillage and in order to prevent further hazard, the State Fire Services quickly coated the road and area with foam-like material which is not poisonous or injurious to the environment and human health,” Omotoso told The ICIR.

“The thing is that our colleagues are very quick to publish whatever they see. You see a video somewhere; you did not bother to find out what was the matter. But when you explain, they don’t want to care anymore.

“This is something the government should be earning praises for. You can imagine such a fire on Ikorodu road.”

As a proof, Omotoso shared another video showing activities of firefighters while spraying the chemical to avoid an inferno.

Nosa Okundor, Public Affairs Officer, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) was contacted to further verify the claim. He said the decision to deploy the foamy blanket was to prevent fire accident.

“In extreme cases, it can get volatile but it may not be as extreme as other petroleum materials.”

Officials of the Lagos State Fire Service
Officials of the Lagos State Fire Service supported by Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) at the scene of the accident that led to the use of foamy substance to prevent fire incident

VERDICT

From the available evidence gathered, the purported snow incident reported in Lagos is FALSE.

Was Ize-Iyamu arraigned in Court for allegedly ‘looting’ N700m?

Niyi Oyedeji
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Was Ize-Iyamu arraigned in Court for allegedly ‘looting’ N700m?

ON July 6, a Twitter user claimed that the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the September 19 Edo State election, Osagie Ize-Iyamu was arraigned in court in 2018 for looting a sum of N700 million.

The claim was tweeted by a Twitter user, Bulama Bukarti, with the Twitter ID: @Bulamabukarti.

The tweet has garnered 411 retweets, 503 likes and 71 comments as of 2:30 pm on Monday, July 7.

Attached to the tweet was a 28 seconds video where a former Chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole, was seen singing, saying Ize-Iyamu is a “loser” and that EFCC would come for him.

FACT-CHECK: Did court restrain Obaseki from contesting Edo PDP primaries?

THE CLAIM

The tweet reads: “In 2015, APC said Eze-Iyamu looted 700m and called on the good people of Edo to not vote for him.

“In 2018, the EFCC under an APC government arraigned Eze-Iyamu in court for looting 700m.

“In 2020, the same APC fielded Eze-Iyamu as its candidate for Edo State.

“APC is a fraud.”

There are three claims from the tweet, namely:

  1. That APC accused Ize-iyamu of looting N700 million in 2015.
  2. That the EFCC under an APC government arraigned Ize-Iyamu in court for looting N700 million in 2018.
  3. That APC fielded Ize-Iyamu as its candidate for the 2020 Edo State election.

The transcript of the video reads: “You are a loser, 700 million! You are a loser, 700 million! EFCC is waiting for you.

“One more time, 700 million, you are a loser, Pastor, you are a loser,  Ize-Iyamu, you are a loser, EFCC is waiting for you. Thank you and God bless”

FACT-CHECK: Report on Thompson Oliha’s death MISLEADING

THE FINDINGS

CLAIM 1

APC accuses Ize-Iyamu of looting 700 million in 2015

The ICIR findings revealed that APC accused Ize-Iyamu of looting N700 million but the accusation was made in 2016 and not in 2015.

While examining the video attached to the tweet, The ICIR findings revealed that the 28 seconds video where Oshiomhole was seen saying that EFCC would soon come for Ize-Iyamu for looting was shot in 2016 during the gubernatorial campaign for the Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki.

The video first appeared on the Channels Television YouTube page on July 28, 2016.

 

CLAIM 2

EFCC arraigned Ize-Iyamu in court for looting N700million in 2018

The ICIR contacted the EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, who confirmed that the EFCC arraigned Ize-Iyamu and four others on the allegation that they received a sum of N700 million from a former Petroleum minister of Nigeria, Diezani Alison- Madueke.

“It is true that we arraigned Ize-Iyamu and four other persons in 2018. In fact, we are still in court with them,” Oyewale stated in a telephone interview with The ICIR.

Further findings by The ICIR revealed that the news about Ize-Iyamu’s arraignment was first published on the EFCC website on March 24, 2018.

The story with the headline, “EFCC Arraigns Ize-Iyamu, Dan Orbih, Lucky Imasuen and two others for N700m Scam” read in part:

“The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, today, Thursday, May 24, 2018, arraigned Pastor Osagie Ize -Iyamu,  PDP governorship candidate in Edo State; Lucky Imasuen, former Edo State deputy governor;  Chief Dan Orbih, PDP chairman in Edo State; Tony Aziegbemi and Efe Erimuoghae before Justice P.I.Ajoku of the Federal High Court, Benin City,  Edo State on an eight-count charge bordering on money laundering.‎

“The defendants were alleged to have sometime in March 2015 in Benin City directly received the sum of seven hundred million (N700,000,000), part of the now infamous $115million Diezani Alison- Madueke bribe to influence the outcome of the 2015 general election.”

It was also revealed on the EFCC website that as of June 18, 2020, the case was adjourned again.

In addition, in 2018  Muhammadu Buhari of the APC was the President of Nigeria.

 

CLAIM 3

In 2020, APC fielded Ize-Iyamu as its candidate for Edo State

Checks by The ICIR revealed that Ize-Iyamu on June 20, emerged the flag-bearer of the APC for the September 19 governorship election in Edo State. This was reported by several media houses.

 

THE VERDICT

From all evidence obtained

  1. The claim that APC accused Ize-Iyamu of looting N700 million is TRUE, but the accusation was made in 2016 and not in 2015.
  2.  The claim that the EFCC under an APC government arraigned Ize-Iyamu in court for looting  N700 million in 2018 is TRUE, but he was arraigned for money laundering.
  3. The claim that APC has fielded Ize-Iyamu as its candidate in the forthcoming Edo state governorship election is TRUE.

Report on Thompson Oliha’s death MISLEADING

Olugbenga ADANIKIN
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Report on Thompson Oliha’s death MISLEADING

ON Sunday, July 5, 2020, City People Magazine reported the death of Thompson Oliha, with the headline, “Former Super Eagles Star, Thompson Oliha is Dead.”

The report was shared via the social media handle of the entertainment news organisation which has over 12, 400 followers on Twitter.  The report has also been circulated  in several WhatsApp groups.

Oliha was part of the Super Eagles team that took part in the United States 1994 World Cup football tournament.

THE CLAIM

“Former Super Eagles Star, Thompson Oliha is dead,” the news headline reads.

THE FINDINGS

The news published on 5th July, 2020 was authored by Damilare Salami.

Based on Salami’s profile at the footer of the article, he is the Brand and Products Editor at the City People Magazine. The article was written like a fresh report without an indication to show that it is several years old.

The author did not state that the deceased died in 2013 even though he reported the date, time and location of Oliha’s death.

Moreover, several articles which reported the late Oliha’s death affirmed that the ex-footballer died in June, 2013.

The Misleading news report as shared in a WhatsApp group.

The ICIR reached out to Yusuf Abdulraheem, the Chief Medical Director of Yusjib Industrial Medicare Care, the same medical doctor the author quoted in the news report.

Abdulraheem clarified that the deceased died seven years ago.

“Thompson Oliha didn’t die five days ago.  He died exactly seven years, five days ago,” he told The ICIR on Sunday, July 5, 2020.

He said Oliha died “Exactly June 30, 2013”.

According to Abdulraheem, he was at the hospital located along Ajase – Ipo road, Ilorin, Kwara State at about 4:06 am when the incident happened.

He said Oliha was rushed to the emergency unit of the hospital but was already lifeless.

“He was brought in dead,” Abdulraheem said. “Immediately I saw him, he was already cold and turned blue. There was no pulse.  Clinically he was dead.”

“I pronounced him dead at 4:06 am in June 2013,” the doctor stressed.

FACT-CHECK: Did court restrain Obaseki from contesting Edo PDP primaries?

The Edo State Chairman of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), Ahmed Agbona said he attended the burial of Oliha.

Oliha was from Edo State.

Agbona stated that there might be another Thompson Oliha as the Oliha’s family is popular in Edo State.

He however stressed that, the Oliha who was the teammate of Daniel Amokachi in the 1994 National Team died in 2013.

“I am from Edo State. I was part of those that buried him,” Agbona noted.

Meanwhile, other independent findings by The ICIR revealed that the picture used for the story was first published in 2013.

THE VERDICT

Based on all evidence available, the claim is MISLEADING.

Was Access Bank in Onne, Rivers State shut down due to COVID-19 infection?

Niyi Oyedeji
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Was Access Bank in Onne, Rivers State shut down due to COVID-19 infection?

A viral voice note on WhatsApp last June claimed that Access Bank in Onne, Rivers State has been shut down due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) infection.

The voice note, made by an unidentified person, was later shared on Instagram by a Social Media Influencer, Tunde Ednut via his account: @tundeednut on June 29.

The post has garnered 287,953 views; 26,033 likes with 1,691 comments as of 3:00pm on Friday, July 3.

 

THE CLAIM

The transcripts of the voice note reads:

“Hello everyone, I hope you are doing well. Please o, abeg! if you don’t have anything to do in the bank, please stay in your house.

“Okay, this is what happened, you know the Access Bank branch in Onne. If you are coming into Onne, you will see Fidelity Bank, First Bank, Sterling Bank, Union bank, Polaris bank, then you will see Access  Bank and Zenith Bank.

“As I speak, NCDC has sealed Access Bank. The bank manager tests positive and he is dead. Everyone working there has been taking to the isolation centre,” a feminine voice narrated.

There are three claims from the voice note, namely:

  1. The Onne branch of Access Bank was shut down due to coronavirus.
  2. A  staff  from the branch died due to the coronavirus.
  3. The person who died is the branch manager of the bank.

 

THE FINDINGS

The ICIR contacted Abdul Imoyo, the Head of Media Relations of the Access Bank PLC. He confirmed that a staff of the bank in Onne community of Eleme local government area of Rivers state in Nigeria tested positive for coronavirus.

He also added that the Onne branch has been shut down.

In addition, Imoyo sent a  press statement, to The ICIR  stating that several measures have been put in place by the bank to minimise the spread of COVID-19.

“We have received unfortunate confirmation of the loss of our staff who until his death worked at our Onne Branch, Rivers State.

“In light of this, we have activated our COVID-19 precaution response plan as part of measures to help contain the virus. The branch has been shut down for immediate disinfection and will only be reopened once we certify that it is safe enough for services to resume”, the  statement reads in part.

Further checks by The ICIR revealed that the River State governor, Nyesom Wike, had on June 20, ordered the lockdown of Onne community of Eleme and Bonny LGAs of the state to check the spread of COVID-19 in the areas.

 

THE VERDICT

From all evidence obtained, The ICIR was able to confirm that:

  1. The Bank’s branch in Onne was shutdown due to coronavirus
  2. A staff of the bank died due to coronavirus
  3. However, The ICIR could not confirm if the dead person was the bank’s branch manager in Onne.

Therefore, two out of the three claims are TRUE.

Claim that NCDC will pay Nigerians to meet domestic needs due to COVID-19 is FALSE

Olugbenga ADANIKIN
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0
Claim that NCDC will pay Nigerians to meet domestic needs due to COVID-19 is FALSE

A MESSAGE which has gone viral on Whatsapp says the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) is providing monetary palliative to all Nigerians to cushion the impact of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19).

The message urged beneficiaries to open valid bank accounts with any recognised financial institution and obtain Biometric Verification Numbers (BVNs) so that they can benefit from the relief supports.

 

THE CLAIM

“Notice to all Nigerians: All Nigerians with valid account and BVN are advice to contact the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control to claim their shotdown [sic] funds to enable them get some of their domestic needs pending when the stay will be over……call 07042835643 for more information.”

The viral WhatsApp post.

 

THE FINDINGS  

The ICIR observed that the message is filled with typographic errors, and reads like typical scam messages from the internet fraudster.

Though the NCDC has been sharing updates on confirmed COVID-19 cases, recovered cases as well as deaths via its verified social media platform, the mandate is restricted to preparedness, detection and response to infectious disease outbreaks and public health emergencies.

The Centre also has a website through which COVID-19 preventive guidelines are shared with the public and relevant stakeholders.

But the Centre does not take part in the distribution of palliatives such as disbursement of money, findings by The ICIR revealed.

Every humanitarian and support activities to vulnerable groups following the COVID-19 lockdown directive issued by Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari was mostly carried out by the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development on behalf of the Federal Government.

Agencies that directly offer these supports to citizens are the National Social Investment Programme (N-SIP); National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA); Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (OSSAP-SDGs); North-East Development Commission, National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons; and the National Agency for Prohibition and Tracking in Persons (NAPTIP).

In April, N-SIP, for instance, listed  2.6 million Nigerians to benefit from the social intervention programme as a result of the COVID-19 lockdown.

On April 13, President Buhari announced that an additional 1 million beneficiaries should be included in the Social Safety Net through the National Social Register. All these activities were being coordinated by Sadiya Umar Farouq, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.

The ICIR called the mobile number included in the message to clarify from the source about, but the person neither answered the calls nor replied text messages sent to the mobile line.

The line showed “Access Bank Scammer” with “32 spam reports” when it was subjected to further check, using the Truecaller mobile app.

The ICIR also reached out to Emeka Oguanuo, the NCDC spokesperson for comment, he debunked the claim.

“This is not within the mandate of the NCDC,” Oguanuo said, adding that the “NCDC does not give out money.”

 

THE VERDICT

The claim, therefore, is  FALSE.

Was N-Power website hacked and applicants’ BVN exposed?

Olugbenga ADANIKIN
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0
Was N-Power website hacked and applicants’ BVN exposed?

ON Friday, June 26, Bashir Ahmad, the Personal Assistant on New Media to Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari announced on his verified Twitter handle @BashirAhmaad the re-opening of a new batch of the N-Power Social Intervention Programme of the current administration.

Ahmad said the application was free.

He further disclosed that fresh applications were to commence from 11:45 pm on the above date, encouraging eligible candidates to visit the portal hosted on the website of the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development (FMHDS).

In less than 48 hours, over a million applicants were reported to have applied for the job.

“In line with the ongoing N-POWER Batch C online application which commenced Friday, June 26, 2020, the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs Disaster Management and Social Development, hereby announces that over 1,000,000 applications have been received from across the Federation in less than 48 hours after the Honourable Minister, Sadiya Umar Farouq, declared open the new N-Power Portal on the Ministry’s website,” the Ministry stated in a report by The ICIR.

The initiative is part of the Federal Government’s social intervention programme to create job opportunities and build capacities of youths across different sectors such as technology, agriculture, and teaching, among others.

However, a viral post on WhatsApp claimed the website has been hacked and that applicants’ Biometric Verification Numbers (BVN) have been exposed.

 

THE CLAIM

“Attention: Please if you know anyone who registered for Npower recently, inform them to move their money to their relative’s account, N-power site has been hacked and their BVNs are exposed.”

“Treat as Urgent,” a WhatsApp user posted.

The viral WhatsApp post.

FINDINGS

First, independent findings by The ICIR revealed that the job portal is secured by the Amazon, a United State-based tech firm.

The web domain is also different from the previous domain used for the N-power job website when it was originally under the direct supervision of Yemi Osinbajo, Nigeria’s Vice President.

Currently, the webpage basically operates as a sub-domain of the official website of the FMHDS.

Based on the technical details of the N-Power website, the internet connection was also encrypted.

It was observed that unlike a website that has HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) which is mostly considered unsecured, the N-Power Application portal is preceded by the HyperText Transfer Protocol Secured (HTTPS), thus secured.

Websites with HTTPS are mostly considered secure. It often has a ‘lock’ symbol to indicate the security status.

“HTTPS uses Transport Layer Security (TLS) and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) to encrypt normal HTTP requests and responses,” Cloudflare, a UK IT firm stated.

“As a result, HTTPS is far more secure than HTTP. A Website that uses HTTP has https:// in its URL, while a website that uses HTTPS has https://.”

 

Why is HTTP not secure? HTTP vs HTTPS
Illustration Source by Cloudflare

As of Tuesday noon (June 30), both portals, the N-Power website and the N-Power application portal are secured and running. The original domain is also secured based on the above analysis.

Speaking with The ICIR, Akindayo Akindolani, Managing Partner, McAnderson Institute of Technology, said once a website is visited and the lock sign is missing, it implies the website is not secured.

He said there are times when website domains are renewed and the SSL are left out; this, he noted, could make the website vulnerable to cyber attacks.

He disclosed further that aside from the lock, users might find it difficult to determine the security of a website has been compromised except it is checked from the backend through the login details. This move, he said, would enable the user to verify the login data and recent activities on the website.

“Once a website is hacked, the original contents could be changed.  Aside from the lock sign, if you log in to the backend and check the login history details, you can find some discrepancies.”

But this is not the case with N-Power portal, The ICIR has confirmed.

Remi Afon, the President of Cyber Security Experts Association of Nigeria (CSEAN) who also shared similar opinion with Akindolani, however, stressed that ascertaining the safety of a website would also include checking for pop-ups, malware and unusual links on the comment sections.

“The padlock signs only show that information sent to the website is encrypted,” Afon said, adding that “most hacked websites are not easily detected by mere visiting them except they are defaced.”

Meanwhile,  the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Anjuri Ngelale in a tweet post has debunked the claim that the website is compromised.

Garba Shehu, spokesperson to the President Buhari also affirmed Ngelale’s clarification by retweeting his message which earlier debunked the false claim.

The ICIR also reached out to Halima Oyelade, Special Assistant on Media to the FMHDS Minister. She also debunked the claim.

“Thank you for reaching out. No, it is not true,” she replied The ICIR‘s enquiry via a text message

Similarly, Mr Zam @DaBullIt,  the Twitter user had also admitted to having spread the fake news and apologised for misleading the public.

 

VERDICT:

Based on all available information, the claim above is MISLEADING and FALSE.

Viral pictures depicting Anambra communal clash were shot in 2017

Olugbenga ADANIKIN
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Viral pictures depicting Anambra communal clash were shot in 2017

ON June 27, a Twitter user identified as @OMOIYAWAEC posted three pictures on the social media to depict incident of communal attacks in Anambra State.

The incident was earlier reported in May and published by different media organisations including Punch Newspaper.

The Twitter account has over 12, 200 followers and its tweet on the attack in Anambra has generated 319 retweets and 296 likes.

 

THE CLAIM

“There have been communal clashes in Anambra for months with over 50 people missing, more than 300 farmers injured, and over 6 people dead including a police officer. Why is no one reporting this?” @OMOIYAWAEC had tweeted.

 

THE FINDINGS

The ICIR subjected the photographs to verification and findings revealed that two of the pictures were as old as 2017, while the third was first published in 2018.

The first picture which shows burnt motorcycle, for instance, has been published 11 times on the Internet and was first shared on March 18, 2017 by news2.onlinenigeria.com.

Moreover, long before the claim was made, the very picture was also published in Vanguard Newspapers online and the Nairaland forum on February 2018.

In fact, Vanguard Newspaper used one of the photographs to illustrate different stories.

The second picture with a burnt vehicle was also published on the internet, first on April 2, 2017.

Since then, it has been re-used on other news publications on the internet, some of which include Vanguard (November 2018) and Tell Magazine (May 2020), among others.

The third picture was that of a fire incident that occurred at Mgbuka Obosi spare parts market in Idemili North Local Government of Anambra State. It was reported in January, 2020.

All the three pictures do not relate to the event to which they were attributed.

 

VERDICT

The images are misrepresentation of the event they were used to depict, and are therefore MISLEADING.

Claim that 39 Arabians, 16 Russians and 20 Chinese were listed in the FBI most wanted list is FALSE

Olugbenga ADANIKIN
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Claim that 39 Arabians, 16 Russians and 20 Chinese were listed in the FBI most wanted list is FALSE

SINCE the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced through its verified Twitter handle: @FBI, on June 27, soliciting  help to locate six Nigerians accused of an online scam worth over $6 million, the news has gone viral on the Internet and elicited diverse reactions from other Nigerians and the local media.

“Help the FBI find ​six Nigerian nationals wanted for their involvement in ​business​ email ​compromise (BEC) schemes resulting in over $6 ​million in losses,” the FBI tweeted.

As of the evening of June 27 when the Bureau made the public request, the FBI’s tweet has garnered over 9, 200 retweets, more than 8, 300 likes and about 3, 800 comments.

But, among several other reactions, a Twitter user @Mayoveli claimed that 39 Arabians, 16 Russians, 20 Chinese and Southeast Asians were part of those accused.

False claim on figure of cyber criminals on FBI list and using of Nigerian suspects as poster

He alleged that the FBI spotlighted the suspected Nigerians among other suspects of different nationalities, because of their race.

These claims have, however, generated more reactions than the original tweet of the FBI.

As of June 28, @Mayoveli’s response to the FBI’s tweet has gotten over 17, 300 retweets and more than 23, 300 likes and 533 comments on Twitter.

Tosin Olugbenga @TosinOlugbenga, another Twitter user also quoted the same figure stressing that the Bureau resolved to use the six Nigerians as the ‘poster boys’ for the crime.

He also had over 2, 600 retweets, 7, 600 likes and 187 comments as at 6:00am on June 28.

 

THE CLAIM

“I checked this list, there are 39 men of Arab origin, 16 Russians, 20 Chinese/Southeast Asian guys, and just 6 Nigerians.

“But guess who FBI chose as the poster boys for this crime? The 6 Nigerians.

“What “-ism” is this?”

The contention was that despite having scores of other nationals indicted for similar crimes in the most wanted list, the FBI allegedly used as a poster and made reference to the six Nigerians identified as Richard Izuchukwu Uzuh, Alex Afolabi Ogunshakin, Felix Osilama Okpoh, Abiola Ayorinde Kayode, Nnamdi Orson Benson and Michael Olorunyomi.

Meanwhile, other nationals in the FBI list were Chinese, Russians, Iranians and some citizens of Arabian nations but to mention a few.

The claim has again stoked the fire of racism discourse in Twittersphere.

 

THE FINDINGS

The ICIR visited the FBI website and downloaded the controversial data. The citizenship or country of birth of each suspect as detailed on the website was verified to establish their nationals.

A study of the data, however, revealed that contrary to the above claims, the suspects were nationals of 12 different countries, and none was of Arab origin.

They include Iranians, Nigerians, Chinese, Russians, Latvian, Romanian, Pakistanis, Ukrainian, North Korean, Vietnamese, Indian and Swedish.

In the FBI most wanted list, there were 15 Chinese suspects, 27 Russians, one North-Korean, one Vietnamese, one Indian, one Ukrainian and one Swedish.

Others are six Nigerians, two Pakistanis, 29 Iranians, one Romanian, one Latvian   

Moreover, countries such as Latvia, Romania, Ukraine are different sovereign countries from Russia contrary to the claim.

Again, some foreign citizens identified in the FBI list and categorised as Arabians were not. Pakistan for instance, does not identify itself as an Arabian or Middle-East nation but South-Asian.

The same applies to Lativa, Romanian and Iran.

The nations are excluded from the 22 Arab nations, according to the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.

FBI Cyber Most Wanted List as of 2nd April, 2019
Photo Source: Olugbenga Adanikin, The ICIR

For the second claim that the FBI deliberately used the six Nigerians as ‘poster boys’ rather than picking from other accused nationals, who mostly populated the Bureau’s database, independent findings by The ICIR revealed that the FBI cybercrime most wanted list is always updated on a periodic basis.

For instance, as of May 13, 2020 names and identities of the six Nigerians were missing from the most wanted list.

Those topping the list as of the date above were the Chinese PLA Members, Maksim Viktorovich Yakubets, Igor Olegovich Turashev, the Gozynym Subjects and Fujie Wang.

Moreover, on April 29, 2019 the name of Maksim Viktorovich Yakubets was published on the most wanted list on the same date Igor Olegovich Turashev, another Russian made the list.

A Chinese, Fujie Wang was added to the list on May 3, 2019.

FBI Cyber’s Most Wanted as of 13th May 2020
Photo Credit: Olugbenga Adanikin, The ICIR

Similarly, as of April 2, 2019, the above names were also missing on the FBI most wanted list.

The names that topped the list as of this date were four Iranians Mojtaba Masoumpour, Behzad Mesri, Hossein Parvar, Mohamad Paryar and IRGC-Affiliated actors. Thus, it means that the FBI’s most wanted list is usually updated at interval, as those of the six Nigerians currently top the list because they were the most recent names to be added to the Bureau’s website.

 

VERDICT

Based on available findings, the claim that 39 of the suspects were of Arab origin is FALSE.

Also, the claim that the accused Nigerians were made the “poster boys” based on their race is also MISLEADING, and thus FALSE.

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