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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.
ON June 19, a news report by TVC News Nigeria claimed that security agencies foiled a planned attack by a terrorist group, Hezbollah, on Ikoyi and Lekki areas of Lagos state.
The report, republished by several blogs including Today.ng, gistville.com, thestreetjournal.org, Nairaland.com, with all of them quoting TVCNews, was also shared on Twitter by Osaretin Victor Asemota with username @asemota on June 20.
The post has been shared 293 times and garnered 290 likes with 38 comments as of Tuesday, June 23.
The Claim
“A major operation by the Islamist group Hezbollah was foiled in Lagos with the arrest of Ali Mohammed el hassan in Ikoyi overnight.
Screenshot of the TVCNews webpage as shown on Google search
“Details of this operation have not been revealed because of the highly sensitive nature of the plot – TVC News gathered from a source that Hezbollah under the leadership of Mr El Hassan had planned a major attack on Ikoyi and the Lekki areas of Lagos.
“Nigerian security agencies acted on a tip from international intelligence and apprehended the suspect at an undisclosed location in Ikoyi,” TVCNewsNG had reported.
The Findings
A fact-check by TheICIR revealed that the news report had been pulled down on the TVCNews verified Instagram account and website which initially published the report.
However, TheICIR was able to retrieve a cached version of the webpage using Google verification tool. (See screenshot below).
But when TheICIR contacted the Lagos State Commissioner for Information, Mr Gbenga Omotoso, he said he’s not aware of such development.
“I am not aware of the news,” he told TheICIR via phone call.
In order to further verify the news, The ICIR contacted the security agencies, namely the Police, State Security Services and the Nigerian military.
“I can’t speak on the news because the news said security agencies and not the police, which I represent,” Police Spokesman for Lagos Command, Bala Elkana, told TheICIR.
Also, the Nigerian Army spokesperson, Sagir Musa, said he is unaware of such report.
“I am unaware of such,” Musa told TheICIR in a brief telephone conversation.
Similarly, when contacted by The ICIR, Peter Afunnaya, the Department of State Services (DSS) spokesperson, said “It’s fake news”.
The Verdict
Based on all available information obtained by The ICIR, it is evident that the report is FALSE.
DADDY D.O, a Twitter user with the username @DOlusegun, on Monday posted a document at exactly 11:51 pm with the claim that a Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has restrained Godwin Obaseki, the incumbent Edo state governor, from participating in the Peoples’ Democratic Party’s gubernatorial primaries in the state.
In the past 11 hours, his post has garnered over 300 retweets and 500 ‘likes’ respectively.
The ICIR investigation also showed that the post has garnered 1,012,832 views as the time of filing this report.
In the last 7 hours, more than 6 popular Nigerian newspapers including Sahara Reporters, Vanguard, TheNation, TheCable, DailyPost, amongst others, have also reported on Tuesday that Obaseki was restrained from contesting the party’s primary election.
The Findings
The ICIR examined the same reported document, with suit number FHC/PH/CS/69/2020, and discovered that the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, only ordered “accelerated hearing” of the suit seeking to stop Governor Obaseki from participating in the Edo PDP’s primary election slated for Thursday.
The suit in question was filed on Monday by Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama, One of the PDP governorship aspirants in Edo State. Prior to the court order, Ogbeide-Ihama has vowed not to step down for Obaseki after Gideon Ikhine, another aspirant, withdrew from the race.
On the first page of the document, the suit has Uche Secondus, National Chairman of the PDP, as the first defendant. Other defendants are Emmanuel Ogidi, Kingsley Chinda, Debekeme, James Manager, Ajibola Muraina, the PDP, Obaseki and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as second to ninth defendants respectively.
Ogbeide-Ihama, through his lawyers, Donald Denwigwe (SAN) and Chief F. Orbih, SAN, and leader of PDP in Edo State, had prayed the court to stop Obaseki because his defection to the party, a few days to the primary, was unreasonable and aimed at destabilising other aspirants.
The plaintiff also prayed the court to order the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, from recognising Obaseki as a candidate in the party’s primary.
According to TheNigeriaLawyer.com, the judge allowed the Plaintiff to serve the parties through substituted means in two national dailies and adjourned till June 24 for the hearing of the summon.
The judge ordered that the processes be served on Secondus, Ogidi, Chinda, Obaseki, and the PDP.
However, the court presided over by Justice E. A. Obile, after listening to the prayers of Denwigwe and Orbih, refused to grant the order stopping defendants, Obaseki or any member or non-member of the party other than those that have purchased forms and were screened within the time stated in the timetable from contesting for Thursday’s primary.
Lekan Bello, a legal practitioner, told The ICIR that the first paragraph of the order which is conspicuously missing in the pictures posted by the said Daddy D.O raises a serious doubt as to whether an order was granted restraining Governor Obaseki from participating in the party’s primaries.
He further explained that the first page in the pictures shows only the prayer of the plaintiff before the court and not the order of the court.
Also, The ICIR checks revealed that a page is missing in the document which caused sentence-break on the first page and the subsequent ones. The first page ends with “from further recognising and/ or” while the succeeding page starts with “2nd defendant, Emmanuel Ogidi.”
The Verdict
The court has, however, adjourned the case till Wednesday, 24th of June, to hear the motion on notice and did not restrain Obaseki from contesting under the party. The reports are FALSE.
LAI Mohammed, Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, on June 14 said the prevalence of insecurity in the country has ‘reduced considerably’ when compared with what was witnessed in 2019, Daily Trust has reported.
He disclosed this in Abuja while rolling out the achievements of the current administration’s second term in office.
Mohammed was specific about banditry and kidnapping.
He said though President Muhammadu Buhari-led government, of which he is a cabinet member, may not have completely wiped out the two insecurity challenges – banditry and kidnapping, he argued that they have significantly dropped in the country, unlike the previous year.
Since the minister made this claim, it has been reported by several media organisations.
The report, which was shared on the Twitter and Facebook pages of the Daily Trust with an aggregate 2.5 million followers, has generated 234 comments, among other reactions.
THE CLAIM
“The Federal Government has said its administration may not have completely wiped out banditry and kidnappings, but in the last one year, cases have reduced considerably,” Daily Trust reported quoting him.
Screenshot of the news report on DailyTrust.com
The publication further quoted Mohammed saying the activities of the bandits and kidnappers have been checkmated.
He admitted though that the federal government needs to do more, “but compared to what it was this time last year, to what it is today, it has reduced drastically.”
FINDINGS
The ICIR checks through data obtained from the Nigeria Security Tracker (NST), an initiative of Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), to verify the reported cases of kidnappings in the country within the period.
The NST methodologically collects data of violent incidents reported by both local and international media organisations about Nigeria.
However, data obtained from the NST about kidnappings from January 2019 to June 2019 was benchmarked against that of January 2020 to June 2020.
Figures of tracked abduction cases from the CFR website says between January to June 2019, 709 cases of kidnappings and 18 deaths were recorded in the country while 339 abductions and 24 deaths were tracked between January to June 19, 2020.
This shows a drop in the incidents of kidnap cases in the first half of 2020 unlike the figure recorded in the first half of 2019, with a difference of 370 abductions as of June 19, 2020 when the data was downloaded.
Data of kidnap cases from Jan to June 2019 and Jan to June 2020 Infograph: The ICIR
Though, the context of the claim was made within the fixed period of 2019 to 2020, the search was extended to a one-year comparison. Further findings of the kidnap cases from June 2019 to June 2020 was verified in comparison with abductions from June 2018 and June 2019.
It revealed that 1,236 persons were kidnapped between June 2018 and June 2019, while there was a total of 9,443 casualties from all forms of insecurity that bedevilled the country within the same period.
But between June 2019 and June 2020, a total of 1,724 kidnap cases were recorded and 8,802 total deaths claimed by insecurity within the period under study.
The data above showed a difference of 488 more cases of abductions this year when compared with the previous year.
Comparison of kidnap cases and killings between June 2018-June 2019 and June 2019 -June 2020 Infograph: The ICIR
Though the 2019 Global Rights Mass Atrocities Casualties Tracking report identified a total of 3,188 killings due to insecurity in the country between January to December 2019, no similar report has been released for 2020 to benchmark the actual deaths recorded as a result of kidnapping and banditry.
However, from the 3,188 deaths recorded in the independent report last year, 2,707 were civilians.
From the overall figure, 1,075 of the casualties were killed due to banditry, the second-highest figure was 702 which was attributed to the Boko Haram insurgency followed by electoral violence which reportedly claimed 605 lives, among other categories. The report only recorded 117 abductions in 2019.
The report further noted that the highest killings in the country per month occurred in June 2019 with 504 deaths.
“…banditry and extrajudicial killings moved at an incremental pace westward, affecting communities in Niger and Kogi States,” the global right report stated.
However, The ICIR could not get data on the number of banditry cases recorded for 2019 and 2020. As stated earlier, it only confirmed that 1,075 deaths were recorded from banditry in 2019 alone.
VERDICT
Based on available data as shown above, cases of kidnapping has dropped considerably, as claimed by Lai Mohammed. So, the claim by the minister is indeed TRUE.
ON June 16, a viral post on social media by Kiffasblog claimed that Denis Mukwege, a medical doctor and Nobel Peace laureate from the Democratic Republic of Congo, resigned from the Congolese government’s Coronavirus Response (Taskforce) Team after he was reportedly asked to declare any illness from patients, brought to hospitals in his province as Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19).
The post, which went viral on Twitter, Facebook, and among WhatsApp users in Nigeria, Cameroon and Kenya, etc, was also shared by a Facebook page, Feedback Express Show, on June 17. As of Friday, June 19, it has been shared 370 times and garnered 395 reactions with 99 comments.
FALSE CLAIM
The Claim
“I cannot in any case dirty my Nobel Peace Prize for money, we had been ordered to declare any illness to be Coronavirus and any death.
“In addition, the thing that displeased me is that, after more than 100 samples, none came out positive. I have a career to protect and I am Congolese by blood. Getting rich by lying is a sin before God, I quit,” the blogger stated quoting Mukwege.
The Findings
A fact-check by The ICIR revealed that Mukwege had earlier issued a statement explaining his position on why he decided to resign. This was published on June 10 on the website of Panzi Foundation RDC.
The ICIR reports that Mukwege had on Wednesday, June 10 announced his resignation as vice president of the Multi-sectoral Commission and president of the Health Commission at the Province of South Kivu.
Mukwege, a renowned gynaecologist had assisted over 30 rape victims and targets of sexual violence with medical care at the Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, a gesture that earned him the global peace award in 2018.
In the statement, Mukwege attributed his decision to resign his position to slow the testing of suspected COVID-19 cases due to lack of laboratories.
The obstetrician-gynaecologist also blamed the Congolese government and identified challenges of poor coordination and organisation among the team members.
These concerns were reported by credible international news media such as Washington Post, rfi, France 24 but to mention a few.
FALSE CLAIM
“Two major difficulties prevented us from effectively applying our strategy:
“On one hand, the impossibility of having in our province of RT‐PCR allowing to quickly confirm the diagnosis of COVID +. The time required, of more than two weeks, to receive the results of the samples sent to the National Biomedical Research Institute in Kinshasa, constituted a major handicap for our strategy based on “testing, identifying, isolating and treating,” he said in the statement.
He added: “On the other hand, a loosening of prevention measures by our population, denial of realities, the impossibility of enforcing barrier measures, the porosity of our borders with the massive return of thousands of compatriots from neighbouring countries without having been quarantined, decreased the effectiveness of our strategy.”
But a blog – Kiffasblog.com, contrary to Mukwege’s position reported wrongly why he resigned. Though the news report has since been deleted from the website, it has gone viral and shared many times on social media.
Four days after the statement was released, Mukwege took to his verified Facebook account to warn against deceitful statements that might be credited to him.
“Please note that all statements or press releases posted appearing to be in my name, that do not appear on our social networks or official sites (Panzi Foundation DRC, Panzi Foundation USA, Mukwege Foundation, and Panzi Hospital) are unauthorized and/or fraudulent statements,” he stated in the Facebook post.
Meanwhile, as of Thursday, June 18, 116 COVID-19 related deaths have been recorded in DR Congo with 5,282 confirmed cases, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The Verdict
Based on The ICIR findings, the report on Dr. Mukwege by Kiffasblog is FALSE.
A VIRAL post on WhatsApp claimed that the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) admits not less than 500 COVID-19 patients on a daily basis.
The report has been circulating on various WhatsApp group in Nigeria for days.
The claims
“The coronavirus pandemic is now spreading rapidly in Lagos. Use your face masks all the time. Avoid going out unless necessary. Avoid entering commercial buses
“My LUTH consultant friend is just telling me that LUTH Lagos admits not less 500 coronavirus patients daily. At the moment, 9 LUTH Professors are presently on admission at LUTH for COVID. So let’s be extraordinarily careful.”
“To wrap this confirmation – Covid-19 is real… and anybody can be infected…,” a part of the WhatsApp text reads.
Screenshot of the viral WhatsApp post
From the above, two claims were established:
· LUTH admits not less down 500 COVID-19 patients on a daily basis
· 9 Professors from the LUTH are on admission due to COVID-19
The findings
In a bid to curtail the Coronavirus pandemic, the Lagos State Government established at least 8 isolation centres in the state to manage COVID-19 patients.
“Gbagada General Hospital – 118; Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi- Araba – 60; Infectious Disease Hospital, Yaba – 115; Onikan Stadium Centre – 100; Landmark Centre – 70; Lekki Centre – 45; Agidingbi Centre – 34 and First Cardiology Hospital – 5 (Critical Care),” the Health commissioner stated.
But in a telephone conversation with TheICIR on Thursday, a Professor of Medical Virology, Prof Sunday Omilabu, who is also a Consultant Virologist and Director of Central Research Laboratory (CRL), College of Medicine, University of Lagos/Lagos University Teaching Hospital (CMUL/LUTH) disclosed that the capacity of the LUTH Isolation Centre is just 120.
“LUTH isolation centre is just 120 capacity, and we are even yet to exhaust the capacity. The claim that we admit 500 patients on a daily basis is fake,” he told The ICIR.
Commenting on the second claim that 9 professors from LUTH were on admission due to COVID-19, Professor Omilabu said: “This is totally fake news”.
Further findings by The ICIR from other unofficial sources also corroborated Prof. Omilabu’s comment, thus showing that the WhatsApp post was full of FALSEHOODS.
“It’s fake news; LUTH doesn’t admit 500 COVID-19 patients on a daily basis,” LUTH’s spokesman, Mr Kelechi Otuneme, told The ICIR.
He also refuted the claim that 9 professors from the hospital were currently COVID-19 patients.
“This is far from the truth,” Otuneme said.
The verdict
Based on all available information obtained by TheICIR, it is evident that the claims are FALSE.
ON June 16, several news platforms and blogs reported that the Nigeria Economic Sustainability Committee (ESC), Chaired by the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, recommended the suspension of the compulsory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) for Nigerian graduates for the next two years.
Though few news organisations reported the information accurately, many other news platforms got it wrong, and the wrong version has since gone viral on social media.
The claim reported by NYSC.info
THE CLAIM
“The Economic Sustainability Committee (ESC) chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has asked the Federal Government to suspend the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, for two years.”
FINDINGS
The ESC was established by President Muhammadu Buhari on March 30, 2020 and his Vice, Osinbajo, was made the Chairman of the committee to oversee activities of the team.
Part of their responsibilities was to provide a clear cut policy direction to support each sector of the economy, as well as possible interventions with the main target for job creation amidst effects of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
On June 11, 2020, Osinbajo officially submitted the economic sustainability plan to the President at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The 76 pages document was titled: “Bouncing Back: Nigeria Economic Sustainability Plan.”
The vice president the economic plan would avert the looming, “impending economic headwinds,” thus, convert the anticipated crisis to success stories for Nigerians.
It was also developed to reduce non-essential spending, spell out specific measures to support the State and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and place the nation’s economy on solid foundation against the pandemic, among others.
The major categories of the plan are the Fiscal Monetary Measures and the Real Sector Measures.
From the real sector which includes education, the document suggested practical measures such as virtual learning, virtual convocation and using of technology tools at all levels of education to address disruptions caused by the pandemic.
However, on the reported claim on NYSC, the document only suggested that the compulsory NYSC orientation camp should be suspended for two years, and not the NYSC scheme in particular.
Section of the 2020 Nigeria Economic Sustainability Plan that reflects the Committee’s true recommendation. Document Source: Federal Ministry of Information and Culture
This, based on the recommendation, is to prevent a backlog of the NYSC postings.
“In similar context, consideration will be given to suspending the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Orientation Camp Exercises for at least 24 months while allowing deployment to places of primary assignment,” the document stated.
“This will ensure that there is no backlog in the National Service placement pipeline.”
VERDICT
Based on the statement of the vice president as documented in the Economic Sustainability Plan, the claim reported by many news websites including those listed above is FALSE and MISLEADING.
A news story, published by Legit.ng on Wednesday, June 10 claimed that a Nigerian man has invented a machine that could transform nylons and plastics into petrol.
The report, titled: “Brilliant! Nigerian man invents machine that transforms nylons and plastics into petrol (photos),” has garnered about 60,000 views on the website and shared at least 462 times on Facebook with over 400 likes and 129 comments as of Monday, June 15.
THE CLAIM
The story claimed that Emeka Nelson Ugwueze, a Nigerian invented a machine that could transform nylons and plastics into petrol.
Published on the website with photos embedded, the story read: “A Nigerian man has invented a machine that might develop Nigeria for the better – The man built a machine that transforms waste into petrol, Kerosene and Diesel.
“It was reported that the machine can also transform waste into tiles and roofing sheets.
Mr. Ugwueze. Insert: his ‘plastic-to-fuel’ machine.
“Emeka Nelson, a Nigerian from the eastern part of the country, remains celebrated in his own right for being able to create a machine that converts wastes to petrol. The machine does other things and there is hope that Emeka’s innovation will help Nigeria’s struggling economy.
“The young man shared a posting, stating what the list of things the machine can do with photos of the invention on his Facebook page. On the Facebook post, the young Nigerian man reported that the machine transforms hydrocarbon related wastes like plastic, nylon and so on.”
THE CHECK
Independent findings by TheICIR confirmed that Mr. Ugwueze actually fabricated the machine and posted it on his Facebook page on October 31, 2018 (about 20 months ago).
Ugwueze in an interview with The ICIR said: “Yeah, it’s true, it can make diesel, petrol, kerosene. A single machine can do all that depending on the design but we found out that the efficiency can be low. So now, we’ve decided to split them so that they (machines) do single thing. For instance, if we want to transform the plastics into pavement blocks or whatever, each one has its own different machine that does that.
“The one that converts plastics to petrol, diesel or whatsoever in that regard is more complex. So, it’s a different machine for that. But technology has made it possible that we can incorporate so many things into one; it’s just like combining two different machines into one.”
When asked if he knew why the platform decided to republish his Facebook post of about two years as fresh report, Ugwueze said: “I don’t know, I don’t know.”
“Whatever they posted there was actually an earlier design. The improved one (machine) we’ve been working on is still doing same thing. But we’re just trying to increase its efficiency,” he said.
Ugwueze added: “at some point, I just talk less and no longer post them (online). They didn’t reach out to me; but what they published wasn’t far from the truth.” He noted that he has improved on the designs published by the platform, adding “but I have kept it personal.”
Further investigation by The ICIR revealed that there are actually incinerating plants or machines that recycle plastics through chemical processes such as gasification and pyrolysis.
Gasification and pyrolysis are completely different processes to simply incinerating the plastic. Gasification and pyrolysis can produce electricity or fuels, and provide more flexible ways of storing energy than incineration, Muxina Konarova, a senior Research Fellow at The University of Queensland, Australia wrote in theconversation.com
She added that gasification involves heating the waste plastic with air or steam, to produce valuable industrial gas mixtures called “synthesis gas”, or syngas. “This can then be used to produce diesel and petrol, or burned directly in boilers to generate electricity.”
“In pyrolysis, plastic waste is heated in the absence of oxygen, which produces mixture of oil similar to crude oil. This can be further refined into transportation fuels,” she opined.
PHOTO CREDITS: Theconversation.com
Dr. Anjan Ray, Director, CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum, also pointed out that “The fuel obtained from conversion of plastic is completely environmentally friendly due to absence of any toxic substances. Apart from producing petroleum and diesel, this technology will also ensure that urban and semi-urban areas become plastic free, as instead of disposing plastics as waste, they can be converted to fuel.”
“Countries like Japan, Germany and the United States have already implemented the plastic to fuel conversion process with much success. These three also have been successful in creating business models out of the conversion process, resulting in the conversion model becoming a profitable business one,” Saptarshi Dutta also wrote on NDTV.com.
Estimates show that less than 5% of the plastic manufactured each year is recycled, with production of the material set to increase by 3.8% every year until 2030, adding to the 6.3 billion tonnes churned out since production began 60 years ago, according to the National Geographic (NatGeo) channel.
The ICIR reports that the plastics-to-fuel ecosystem if supported could provide major economic benefits to the nation, not only through job creation but also by curbing environmental pollution.
THE VERDICT
The claim was TRUE, however Legit.ng was re-circulating the Facebook post earlier made about two years ago by Mr. Ugwueze as fresh news. And this is MISLEADING.
On June 11, 2020, a popular entertainment news blog known as weddingdigestnaija.com reported that Pastor Enoch Adeboye, General-Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) allegedly threatened to kill anyone that ‘messes’ with his wife, Folu Adeboye.
The report, which was also published by other online news platforms, claimed that the strict warning was issued to the general public during the clergy’s virtual morning devotion last week. It was posted on the clergy’s verified Instagram account: @PastorEAAdeboyeOfficial with the topic: Joys of Having a Successful Marriage.
The Claim
“You have heard me say it before. You can do whatever you like to me, you can criticize me, you can insult me, you can trample on me, I will only pray for you. But if you mess around with my wife, I will kill you,” the report stated, quoting Adeboye.
“I will kill you so thoroughly you won’t even be able to rise on the resurrection morning. When some people ask how are you going to do that, I tell my daddy to send you to hell straight away, so that there will be no need to come forward for judgement.”
Findings
The ICIR’s findings revealed that the video footage is real and the comment true, as it was also posted on the verified Instagram page of the clergy named @pastoreaadeboyeofficial on 4th June, 2020.
In the sermon, the clergy spoke on how couples could enjoy a successful marriage based on Biblical teachings. He established some of these teachings with different Biblical passages including Ephesians 5: 20-30.
For instance, while he encouraged women to submit to their husbands irrespective of the academic qualifications and status, he tasked men to love their wives, just as Christ loves the church.
Based on the context of the teaching, the two adults he identified are man and woman. But on the claim to kill anyone that ‘mess’ with his wife, Adeboye emphasised that a man should love his wife to the extent that he could give his life for hers.
“The only big problem comes when you asked the question, how much love must I have for my wife? And the Bible made it clear, as Christ loves the church. That is a big one because it means you have to love your wife to the extent of being willing to die for her,” he stated in the 36 minutes and 34 seconds footage.
The influential clergy particularly stressed that he would not shoot the person, as the government could only arrest him if he uses any lethal weapon. However, he said his divine power would come against such an individual.
“…who told you I’m going to shoot the fellow? You can only arrest me if I use any human weapon. To mess around with my wife, then every power God has given me will descend on you.”
“Why? Because the Bible says you are to love your wife as Christ loves the church that he gave himself for man,” he said, describing the act of love as an assignment of every husband in marriage.
Adeboye insisted further that husbands should develop such love for their wives only. He buttressed the teachings in Yoruba language, after citing examples including that of two couples who were both Professors.
“Husbands will forever be husbands, but you, the husband must love your wife. That should not be difficult until the Bible added that as Jesus loves the church….”
“That made it a bit difficult because it implies that you must be ready to die for your wife,” he stated.
Further findings revealed that the clergy disassociated himself from the actual killing but would rely on divine help.
THE VERDICT
Though the claim that Adeboye threatened to kill anyone who messes with his wife is TRUE, the short footage was taken out of context, to MISLEAD members of the public.
THE Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari, in the speech delivered on Friday, June 12, 2020 to commemorate the national Democracy Day, claimed that “all the Local Governments that were taken over by the Boko Haram insurgents in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa have long been recovered and are now occupied by indigenes of these areas…” The claim has stirred intense public reactions offline and on the internet.
Buhari, while giving stewardship account of his All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government in the area of national security during the presidential broadcast, had claimed that the local government areas in three north-eastern states of the country – Adamawa, Borno and Yobe – hitherto known for relentless insurgency since almost a decade ago have been secured as the areas “are now occupied by indigenes of these areas who were hitherto forced to seek a living in areas far from their ancestral homes.”
All the Local Governments that were taken over by the Boko Haram insurgents in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa have long been recovered and are now occupied by indigenes of these areas who were hitherto forced to seek a living in areas far from their ancestral homes.
Parts of his speech read: “In the area of security, we remain unshaken in our resolve to protect our national infrastructure including on-shore and off-shore oil installations, secure our territorial waters and end piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.
“Ending insurgency, banditry and other forms of criminality across the nation is being accorded appropriate priorities and the men and women of the Armed Forces of Nigeria have considerably downgraded such threats across all geo-political zones.
“All the Local Governments that were taken over by the Boko Haram insurgents in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa have long been recovered and are now occupied by indigenes of these areas who were hitherto forced to seek a living in areas far from their ancestral homes.
“The total collapse of the economies of these areas, which constituted a threat to our food security, has also been reversed with the gradual recovery of farming and other economic activities.
“I regret recent sporadic incidents with tragic loss of lives in Katsina and Borno States as a result of criminals taking advantage of COVID-19 restrictions. Security Agencies will pursue the perpetrators and bring them to swift justice.
“I must implore state and local governments to revamp their intelligence assets so that the Security Agencies can nip in the bud any planned attacks in remote rural areas. I send my heartfelt condolences to all the relatives and communities affected.
“As part of the strengthening of our internal security architecture, the Ministry of Police Affairs was created.
“Amongst others, Government has expanded the National Command and Control Centre to nineteen states of the federation, resuscitated the National Public Security Communication System and commenced the implementation of the Community Policing Strategy.
“Government has similarly established a Nigerian Police Trust Fund as a public-private sector vehicle for alternative sources of funding security activities.
“To reduce security challenges through our external borders especially smuggling of oil products out of the country, inflow of small arms and drugs into the country and equally protect our local manufacturers, we introduced operation “Ex-Swift Response” closing our borders from August 20th 2019, and have considerably succeeded in meeting its objectives as well as improving our national revenue.”
THE CHECK
A fact-check investigation by The ICIR shows that contrary to the victory claim by the Nigerian president against the Boko Haram insurgents, “the fight is still ongoing,” according to the nation’s Army chief, General Tukur Buratai.
A news report published on Monday, June 8 on Daily Trust website quoted Buratai as saying that “The fight is still ongoing and over 1,429 Boko Haram terrorists have been neutralised and we have arrested over 166 Boko Haram terrorists informants, their spies, couriers on logistics and their coordinators in the villages, the towns and even the forest.”
Nigeria’s Army chief, General Tukur Buratai.
Buratai disclosed this on Monday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, while speaking with journalists on his two months’ sojourn in the theatre of war (North East) after briefing President Buhari.
“So, this is a tremendous achievement, our intelligence corps along with the Department of State Services and of course our good friends the civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), have worked very hard to see that this is achieved and I assure you that things will continue to improve as the days go by,” the Army chief added.
Media reports within the week indicated that Boko Haram insurgents were still in control of several villages and remote areas especially in Abadam, Damboa, Guzamala, Gubio, Bama, Konduga and Mafa local government areas of Borno state, from where they launched deadly attacks on other parts of the state.
Though no recent attack was reported in Yobe and Adamawa as of June 11, 2020, the insurgents’ attack on Dapchi, headquarters of Bursari local government in Yobe state on May 18, 2020 still leaves some residents displaced, as the attackers set fire on the palace of Dapchi District head, media reports noted.
On Tuesday, 69 persons were killed and seven others abducted by the Boko Haram insurgents at Foduma Kolomaiya village, in Gubio local government area of Borno state, but the state governor, Professor Babagana Zulum, on Wednesday confirmed that 81 civilians were buried following the attack, media reports stated.
“It is the most deadly attack in recent times. The location of the village made rescue mission a bit difficult. Many people were killed and others missing because the attackers waylaid the village in broad daylight, surrounded it and opened fire,” a source told Daily Trust.
It said insurgents from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in trucks equipped with machine guns, attacked the Auno base, 25 kilometres from Maiduguri, Borno’s capital.
“We lost six soldiers in the attacks which the terrorists launched around 6:30 pm (1730 GMT), on Saturday,” a military officer told AFP. “A search is ongoing for 45 soldiers who are still unaccounted for but we assume they escaped during the attack and are yet to return,” the second source said. Auno lies on a 120-kilometre highway linking Maiduguri and Damaturu in neighbouring Yobe state. The area has been repeatedly targeted by militants who attack troops and abduct motorists at bogus checkpoints.
Also, a weekly report by the Nigeria Security Tracker, published on the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) website also revealed fighting between Boko Haram insurgents and the Nigerian military in two of the three north-eastern states, as they battle for control of the areas.
On May 26, Nigerian troops killed seventy-five Boko Haram militants in Bama, Borno, it said.
It listed incidence of violence related to the Boko Haram insurgency from May 30 to June 5 as follows:
May 30: Boko Haram killed two in Askira/Uba, Borno.
May 31: A Boko Haram suicide bomber killed herself but no others in Konduga, Borno.
June 1: Boko Haram killed four in Konduga LGA and four in Damboa LGA, Borno.
June 1: Nigerian troops killed one Boko Haram militant in Madagali, Adamawa.
June 2: Boko Haram kidnapped one soldier and three aid workers in Guzamala, Borno.
June 2: Nine Boko Haram militants and one soldier were killed during a clash in Kukawa, Borno.
June 3: Nigerian troops killed six Boko Haram militants in Konduga, Borno.
Professor Zulum, in two separate reports published by Daily Trust this week also confirmed that many displaced persons were still homeless, as the state government races against time to house them and provide them with sustainable means of livelihood.
The IDPs, now staying in Bama town, according to the report, were mostly from villages sacked by insurgents in Banki, Gulumba, Jaudari and Nguro Soye, in Bama local government area and in Ajiri, a community in Mafa local government area of Borno state.
Prof. Zulum seated with some villagers on Wednesday when he visited the scene of Tuesday’s Boko Haram attack in Gubio LGA of Borno state. PHOTO CREDITS: Daily Trust/ Olatunji Omirin
The rising spate of Boko Haram attacks in north-eastern Nigeria also worried the nation’s lawmakers, as the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, and the Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, reportedly plan to meet with President Buhari over the issue.
Addressing parliamentarians on Thursday in Abuja, Lawan, who spoke while giving his remark to a motion on the resurgence of Boko Haram attacks in some parts of Borno state by Senator Abubakar Kyari (APC, Borno), said: “Boko Haram has now become an industry. It is an industry because what they do is no more religious. They have people from different faiths, different countries among them.”
Earlier in his lead debate, Senator Abubakar Kyari, noted that the attacks had become worrisome in view of the fact that the Nigerian Army had recorded successes recently in their fight against the insurgents, adding that the attacks had resulted in the killings of people and other dastardly acts like kidnapping, cattle rustling and displacement of communities.
While charging the security agencies to deploy more personnel and equipment to critical areas of the Lake Chad shores to flush out the insurgents, the lawmakers urged the federal government to provide enough equipment to the troops prosecuting the ‘Boko Haram war.’
Further report by John Campbell, a Conflict and Security expert and Ralph Bunche Senior Fellow for Africa Policy Studies also confirmed the presence of Boko Haram insurgents in the north-eastern states.
“They operate freely in Borno and Yobe States, and in adjacent parts of Cameroon, Chad, and Niger. They share the goal of destroying the Nigerian secular state and establishing a new polity based on their idiosyncratic seventh-century interpretation of Islamic theology and law,” Campbell wrote in the report.
The ICIR reports that the Boko Haram insurgency had claimed more than 37,500 lives since May 2011, displaced an estimated 2.7 million people in the Lake Chad Basin and turned 292,510 Nigerians into refugees in Chad, Cameroon and Niger as of May 31, 2020, according to data obtained from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
THE VERDICT
All evidence available in public domain invalidates the claim by President Buhari as several media reports indicate that some areas in these three north-eastern states are still suffering from recurring Boko Haram attacks while many residents of these areas have fled to and/or still living in Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps hosted by their respective state governments. The claim is absolutely FALSE.
THE Guardian (Nigeria) newspaper on Friday, June 5, 2020, reported that “By July 10 this year, Nigeria may lose 24 local councils, by way of ceding, to a new country to be known as United Nations Organisation (UNO) State of Cameroon at its borders with la Republique du Cameroun.” The report has generated reactions from the public both in Nigeria, Cameroon as well as in the international community.
The report, published by some Nigerian newspapers and online news platforms, was titled: “Nigeria may lose 24 councils to new UN state”
THE CLAIM
The report claimed that Nigeria may lose 24 local government areas to a new country to be known as United Nations Organisation (UNO) State of Cameroon, which shall be carved out from parts of Nigeria and Cameroon.
Pillar construction project at Taraba State (Nigeria)/North West Region (Cameroon): Nigerian customs officer (right) of Cross River State’s local Boki government inspects location of newly erected Primary Pillar BP 67 (boundary pillar), which replaces the old “Anglo-German Pillar. Credit: UN Photo/MABAYA
The report stated further that President Paul Biya has commenced the withdrawal of his country’s soldiers from the southern part of the new state.
“The withdrawal of troops by Biya was formally demanded by the former President of the United Nations General Assembly, Ali A. Treki on May 20, 2020,” The Guardian reported.
The UN, according to recent reports, pledged to actualize a new State of Cameroon on July 10, 2020, which will be known as the UNO State of Cameroon or simply as “Ambazonia.”
The media report has been trending online since the news broke out on Friday. So far it has been shared severally by hundreds of internet users especially on Twitter and Facebook, including @Amaka_Ekwo, the Press Secretary to Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the proscribed Biafra group, IPOB.
THE CHECK
A fact-check investigation by The ICIR shows that the United Nations (UN) is not creating a new country in Africa though there had been agitations for the creation of Ambazonia State by some leaders from Southern Cameroon.
The Director, United Nations Information Centre for Nigeria, Ronald D. Kayanja, on Monday, denied the media report in a terse response to an email enquiry by The ICIR.
“This is fake news. Should be disregarded,” he said.
UN Helicopter Support to the CNMC lands on Gotel Mountain (Cameroon/Nigeria), to reach border areas of difficult access during the delineation of the two nations’ boundaries. Credit: UN Photo/BARIL
Bashir Ahmaad, an aide to the Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari, has also debunked the report.
He said: “Nigeria may lose 24 councils to new UN state” you might have read this story on the Guardian newspapers, WhatsApp or somewhere else, the story is 100 per cent fake, fabricated, maybe for an agenda only best known to those that started the spreading the fake news.”
“Nigeria may lose 24 councils to new UN state” you might have read this story on the Guardian newspapers, WhatsApp or somewhere else, the story is 100% fake, fabricated, may be for an agenda only best known to those that started the spreading the fake news.
Similarly, Barrister Abdul Oroh, a solicitor to some detained leaders of Southern Cameroon agitators who were currently facing trial in Cameroon, told The ICIR that the Southern Cameroonians were unaware of the UN attempt to create the new State. He said all his sources in Southern Cameroon denied knowing anything about it.
When The ICIR reached out to Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, its spokesperson, Ferdinand Nwonye could not be reached on his mobile line. Text messages sent to him since Friday were not replied either.
The ICIR also reports that the October 10, 2002 ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague on boundary dispute between Nigeria and Cameroon only delineated boundaries between the two nations; it didn’t make any provision for the creation of an autonomous State to be carved out of the two countries.
Following the world court judgement, the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission (CNMC) was established in November 2002 by the UN Secretary-General at the request of Presidents Paul Biya and Olusegun Obasanjo of Cameroon and Nigeria respectively.
The goal of the CNMC was to facilitate the implementation of the 10 October 2002 judgement of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the Cameroon-Nigeria boundary dispute.
THE VERDICT
There is no evidence to support the claim that the UN is creating a new state from parts of Nigeria and Cameroon. Therefore, the report is FALSE.
