Please note that the FactCheckHub has not obtained any right from the authors or copyright owners of all third-party contents from embedded links and shall incur no liability in this regard.
Please note that the FactCheckHub has not obtained any right from the authors or copyright owners of all third-party contents from embedded links and shall incur no liability in this regard.
Please note that the FactCheckHub has not obtained any right from the authors or copyright owners of all third-party contents from embedded links and shall incur no liability in this regard.
Please note that the FactCheckHub has not obtained any right from the authors or copyright owners of all third-party contents from embedded links and shall incur no liability in this regard.
Wani rubutu dake yaduwa a dandalin zumunta na Whatsapp wanda ke cewa Gwamnatin Tarayya tana bada tallafi dan dan temakawa yan Najeriya.
Rubutun ya cigaba da fadin cewa tallafin na miliyan uku ne kuma gurbin mutane 9,540 kawai, kuma za’a bada tallafin ga wayanda suka fara shiga tsarin.
IKIRARI:
Gwamnatin Tarayya Ta Najeriya Ta fara bada tallafin miliyan uku-uku dan temakawa yan Najeriya.
ABUN DA MUKA GANO:
Binciken mu ya gano cewa labarin karya ne.
Duk da cewa rubutun bai tabbatar da irin yadda tallafin yake ba, amma cibiyar ICIR ta ziyarci fejin yanar gizo dake yada likau din shiga tsarin dan tabbatar da gaskiyar labarin.
Wakilin mu da ya bibiyi likau din shiga tsarin mai suna “bonanzaoffers.xyz”. Bacin shigarsa fejin sai wani allo ya bayyana yana dauke da cewa ” Muna taya ka murna da shigowa wannan feji kuma muna ma albishir zaka iya samun tallafin biliyan 75 daga Gwamnatin Tarayya”, zuke fadawa wakilin mu.
Aka cigaba da yi masa tambayoyi akan dalilin da yasa yake so ya shiga tsarin; da kuma adadin da mutun yake so ya nema, tare da neman sanin ta yaya kasan tsarin. Kuma duka tambayoyin suna dauke da zabi daban-daban.
Cikin dakiku hudu da danna “Turawa”. Kawai sai aka aikowa wakilin ICIR cewa ya samu nasarar shiga jerin wayanda suka samu nasarar samun tallafin.
Amma dan sakin kudun sai akace dashi sai ya turawa abokansa ko kuma zaurukan Whatsapp guda goma Sha Biyu. A cewar fejin yanar gizon, yin haka zai bawa sauran yan Najeriya su ci moriyar tsarin.
Duk da haka, sai ICIR ta gudanar da wani bincike ta amfan da fejin kowace tambaya wato”Google” inda tai tambaya kamar haka, dan gano gaskiyar tsarin bada tallafin na Gwamnatin Tarayya; ” tallafin biliyan 75 na Gwamnatin Tarayya”.
Saidai amsar ta nuna tsarin tallafin farfado da Kanana da Matsakaitan Sana’oi wato (MSMEs) wanda ake kira da ” MSME Survival Fund.
Tsarin an samoshi ne daga kwamitin daurewar tattalin arziki wanda aka yishi dan tsara yadda za’a magace irin kalubalen da annobar cutar sarkewar numfashi ta coronavirus pandemic ta kawo na tabar-barewar tattalin arziki.
Tsarin da aka tsara za’a gudanar dashi tsawon wata uku, farawa da watan Tara na 2020, wanda Ma,aikatar Kasuwanci, Ciniki Da Zuba Jari Ta Tarayya zata kula dashi. Inda ake sa ran yan kasa da kamfanunuwa miliyan 1.7, wanda kaso 45 na wayanda za suci gajiyar tsarin matane masu Sana’oi, kaso biyar 5 kuma masu bukata ta musamman.
Wani tsarin biliyan 75 na Gwamnatin Tarayya da ICIR ta gano yayin binciken ta, shine Asusun Zuba Jari Na Matasa wato “Nigerian Youth Investment Fund (NYIF) wanda yake karkashin kulawar Maaikatar Matasa Da Cigaban Wasani Ta Tarayya. Tsarin da babban bankin Najeriya wato CBN sai dinga tallafa da kudaden gudanarshi, zai dauki tsawon shekara uku yana tallafar Kasuwanci matasa a Najeriya.
Tsarin na bashi ne, wanda ke dauke da kaso 5 na kudin ruwa a shekara da kuma za’a biya cikin shekara biyar dake dauke da uzurin watanni Sha Biyu. Inda dai daikun mutane da kasuwaci mara rijista zai iya karbar kudi har kimanin dubu 250’000, inda kuma kamfanunuwan matasa masu rijista zasu iya karbar kudi har miliyan uku.
Wannan shine hanyoyin da kirkirarran fejin yanar gizon yake bi yayin tambayar daidaikun mutanen suke so su karba daga dubu #200’000 har miliyan uku.
Su waye yan damfarar?
Cibiyar ICIR tabi diddigin fejin yanar gizon na karya dan samo bayanan mamallakansa ta hanyar amfani da manhajar yanar gizo ta Whois.net.
Har izuwa yanzu da muke hada wannan rahoto, ba wani bayani na fejin, kamar yadda aka saba gani a sauran fejikan yanar gizo.
Duk da cewa binciken mu be gano ko a ina kuma su waye suka kirkiri fejin yanar gizon ba. Amma mun gano an kirkiri fejin yanar gizon ranar 08/05/2020 kuma an debar masa tsawon shekara guda yana gudana.
Sauran bayanai da suka hadarwa nambar waya da akwatin karta kwana na yanar gizo wato “email” duka babu su.
HUKUNCI:
Labarin KARYA NE, kuma fejin yanar gizon ba wai kawai kirkirarre bane, amma samar dashi dan yada labarai marasa tushe.
A ranar Litini 2 ga watan Sha Daya, 2020, fejin yanar gizo na kaida halinka da dama ne a Najeriya suka rawaito cewa shugaban Hukumar Lafiya Ta Duniya WHO, Tedros Ghebreyesus ya kamu da cutar sarkewar numfashi ta COVID-19.
Wasu daga cikin fejikan da suka wallafa rahoton sun hadarwa Sahelstandard, Bioreports, Naijanews, Business247news da kuma Sunrise.
Kafofin yad’a labaran sun ce shugaban Hukumar Lafiya Ta Duniya WHO da kanshi ya sanar da halin da yake kan cutar a fejin sa na Twitter.
“An auna shugaban Hukumar Lafiya Ta Duniya WHO Tedros Ghebreyesus, kuma awon ya nuna ya kamu da cutar sarkewar numfashi ta coronavirus”.
Inda rahoton Naijanews yake cewa; “Shugaban Hukumar Lafiya Ta Duniya WHO ya sanar da halin da yake ciki a cikin jerin takaitattun gajerun wallafe-wallafe da yayi akan tabbataccen fejin na Twitter”
IKIRARI:
Wai shugaban Hukumar Lafiya Ta Duniya WHO Ya Kamu Da Cutar Sarkewar Numfashi Ta COVID-19.
ABINDA MUKA GANO:
FactCheckHub ta duba gajerun takaitattun wallafe-wallafe da shugaban Hukumar Lafiya Ta Duniya WHO yayi, musamman wanda masu fejinkan kaida halinka suka dogara dashi wajen rubuta rahoton su.
A ranar 1 ga watan Sha Daya,2020. Shugaban WHO, Tedros Ghebreyesus ya rubuta a Twitter cewa; an gano nayi alaka da wani da aka gano ya kamu da cutar sarkewar numfashi ta COVID-19.
Ghebreyesus bai rubata an aunashi yana da cutar sarkewar numfashi ta COVID-19 acikin rubutunsa na Twitter ba.
Yadai kawai ce zai killace kansa a yan kwanakin nan gani halin da ake ciki.
Haka kuma, a washe garin ranar 2 ga watan Sha Daya, 2020. Hukumar Lafiya Ta Duniya WHO ta bayyana gaskiyar halin da ake ciki akan cece kucen dake yawo kan shugaban hukumar na halin dake ciki akan cutar sarkewar numfashi ta COVID-19.
WHO ta tabbatar da cewa Ghebreyesus bai kamu da cutar sarkewar numfashi ta COVID-19 ba.
FactCheckHub ya rawaito cewa mambobin WHO sun zabi dan kasar Habasha, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus yayin taron Zauren Lafiya Na Duniya, karo na bakwai, a watan biyar na shekarar 2017.
HUKUNCI:
KARYA NE cewar shugaban Hukumar Lafiya Ta Duniya WHO, Tedros Ghebreyesus ya kamu da cutar sarkewar numfashi ta COVID-19; kawai dai yayi alaka da mutumin da wani mutum da aka gano yana da cutar.
A ranar Laraba, 28 ga watan Goma, 2020, kafafen yad’a labarai da dama a Najeriya ne suka rawaito cewa Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala ta zama shugabar Kungiyar Cinikayya Ta Duniya WTO.
Okonjo-Iweala tsohuwar ministan kudi ce, haka kuma tsohuwar ministan gudanarwa ce ta tattalin arzikin Najeriya.
Ita da Yoo Myung-Hee ta kasar Koriya ta kudu ne suka rage dake fafatawa wurin neman kujerar shugabancin WTO.
IKIRARI
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala ta zama shugabar Kungiyar Cinikayya Ta Duniya WTO
BINCIKE
A binciken da FactCheckHub yayi ya nuna rahoton KARYA NE.
Vanguard Newspaper dake da miliyoyin mabiya ta rawaito labarin cewa Okonjo-Iweala ta zama shugabar WTO.
Wata sabuwar kafar labarai ta People Gazette itama ta wallafa makamancin labari akan Okonjo-Iweala ta dare kujerar shugabancin WTO.
Cikin kankanin lokaci rahoton ya samu mutane 2,600 da suka nuna sonsu da rahoton, inda kimanin mutane 1,800 suka yad’a labarin dake a fejin @GazetteNGR na Twitter. Inda aka fara koka labarin tare da tura sakon taya murna.
People Gazette ta ayyana tare da yin togaciya a rahoton ta, da labarin da Gidan talabijin na Arise Television yayi tun farko da misalin karfe 12:30 na yamma na ranar Laraba (28 ga watan Goma).
Newswire ma tabi sahu, amma ta sabunta labarin ta daga baya, bacin da aka fara kalubalantar kafafen yad’a labarai kan dalilin da yasa suka zabi cewa suyi rahoton batare da jiran WTO ta sanar a hukumance ba.
Har izuwa yanzu da muke tattara binciken mu, ba wani bayani a hukumance dake cewa Okonjo-Iweala ta zama shugabar WTO koda a fejukan WTO na sada zumunta.
LABARIN IZUWA YANZU….
A ranar 28 ga watan Goma, gun mambobin WTO sun bada shawarar nada Okonjo-Iweala matsayin wadda zata jagorancin WTO, amma kasar Amurka tayi watsi da haka.
Kafar yad’a labarai ta Bloomberg ta rawaito cewa inba dan matsayar kasar Amurka ba, da tuni WTO ta gabatar da tsohuwar ministan kudi ta Najeriya amatsayin sabuwar shugabarta.
Duk da cewa Okonjo-Iweala ruwa biyu ce, Najeriya-Amurka, amma kasar Amurka ta ayyana yar takarar Koriya ta kudu Yoo Myung-Hee amatsayin zabinta. Gwamnatin Amurka ta koka kan cewa fadar Washington ba zata dau yar Najeriya ba, amatsayin wadda zata jagorancin WTO ba. Duk da shawarar babban zauren bai daya na Kungiyar kan Okonjo-Iweala.
Har izuwa yanzu da muke tattara binciken mu ba wata sanarwa a hukumance dake ayyana Okonjo-Iweala matsayin sabuwar shugabar WTO. Kuma babu wani bayani hakan akan fejin su na twitter@wto ko fejin su na yanar gizo.
Saboda matsayar Amurka, zauren bai daya dake da alhakin gudanar da zaben ya daga sanar da sabuwar shugabar har sai 9 ga watan Sha Daya na 2020.
Wannan ba shine karan farko da labarai marasa tushe akan takarar neman kujerar shugabancin WTO ke kara-kaina a fejukan yanar gizo ba. FactCheckHub ya bankado irin wannan labarai a lokuta mabambanta a watan bakwai nan da watan Goma nan wanda duka basu da tushe.
HUKUNCI
Duba da irin bayanai dake akwai, babu wani bayani a hukumance da zai tabbatar da ikirarin cewa Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala ta zama shugabar WTO. Dan haka labarin KARYA NE.
Kawai dai zauren bai daya na WTO ya bada zabinta.
Samunta:
A watan Fabrairu 2021 ne aka tabbatar da Okonjo-Iweala a matsayin Shugabar Kungiyar Cinikayya Ta Duniya WTO
SEVERAL Nigerian blogs on Monday, November 2, 2020 reported that the Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Tedros Ghebreyesus, has tested positive for COVID-19.
The news blogs claimed that the DG disclosed his COVID-19 status via his official Twitter page.
“Tedros Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organisation, has tested positive for Coronavirus.
“The DG of WHO announced his status in a series of tweets on his verified account,” says the Naijanews’ report.
THE CLAIM:
That the Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Tedros Ghebreyesus, has tested positive for COVID-19.
THE FINDINGS:
The FactCheckHub checked the tweets made by the WHO DG, particularly the ones the bloggers relied on to write their report.
The WHO chief, Tedros Ghebreyesus, tweeted on his Twitter page on November 1, 2020 that he has been identified as a contact of someone who tested positive for COVID-19.
Ghebreyesus did not, in any part of the tweets, said that he tested positive for COVID-19.
He only said he would self-quarantine over the coming days due to the development.
Similarly, the World Health Organization (WHO), had in a tweet on November 2, 2020 cleared air on the rumour surrounding the COVID-19 status of its DG.
WHO affirmed that Ghebreyesus hasn’t tested positive for COVID-19.
The FactCheckHubreports that the Ethiopian, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, was elected as WHO Director-General for a five-year term by WHO Member States at the Seventieth World Health Assembly in May 2017.
THE VERDICT:
The claim is FALSE, as the Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Tedros Ghebreyesus, has not tested positive for COVID-19; he only had contact with someone who tested positive for the disease.
A viral claim which says that ‘Railway’ is recruiting 50,000 people for temporary job placements has surfaced online.
The post, as seen in a WhatsApp group, reads in part: “Railway has announced vacancies for 50,000 young people across the country for data collection. Submit your application.”
The post included a link for the application.
The claim did not specify which ‘railway’, but it was circulated and has gone viral within the Nigerian cybersphere. As such people are bound to assume that it is the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) – which is the only railway in Nigeria.
THE CLAIM
That the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) is recruiting 50,000 workers.
Screenshot of the claim circulating online.
THE FINDINGS
Checks by the FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE.
The railway system in Nigeria is government owned and it is called the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC). It is a Federal Government-owned public railway transport system.
During the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, the railway system in Nigeria experienced a significant boost when in 2014 he signed a $12 billion deal with the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) to construct a 1,400-kilometre railway in the country.
His successor, President Muhammadu Buhari, continued with the work in the sector by securing a $7.5 billion loan in 2017 to construct the Lagos-Ibadan rail project.
“Accordingly, I have approved the prioritisation of viable railway routes for either new rail lines or the reconstruction and rehabilitation of some, to achieve effective and efficient train services supporting the country’s trade and commerce,” Buhari said at the commissioning of a 326 kilometres Itakpe-Ajaokuta-Warri rail line in September 2020.
The projects, when completed among others things, are expected to provide job opportunities.
A disclaimer on the Nigeria Railway Corporation’s website
Is NRC really planning to engage 50,000 people on a temporary basis?
As part of the verification process, the FactCheckHub visited the link included in the claim, and the next page shows a webpage entirely different from the NRC.
Even though the website has the secured sign icon, it is not related to the country’s railway service.
In a phone conversation with the FactCheckHub, Yakub Mahmoud, the NRC Public Relations Officer (PRO) dismissed the report as fake.
“It is not true. It is completely false,” Mahmoud said.
In addition, the NRC had issued a disclaimer on the recruitment claim.
“That NRC is currently not recruiting” it reads in part.
THE VERDICT:
The claim that the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) is recruiting 50,000 persons for a temporary job is FALSE.
A viral ‘forwarded-as-received’ post has been spread across WhatsApp platforms, with the accompanying claim that the federal government is giving out grants to support Nigerians.
The post with a registration link attached to it advanced that the N3 million grant only has 9540 slots available for grabs by Nigerians on a first-come, first-serve basis.
THE CLAIM:
That the federal government is giving out N3million grants to support Nigerians.
THE FINDINGS:
Findings show that the claim is false.
Although the post did not specify the kind of grant, The ICIR visited the website through the acclaimed registration link to confirm the veracity of the claim.
The first red flag sighted by this reporter was how the ‘Bitly’ shortened link changed to “bonanzaoffers.xyz”. After gaining access to the page, another message popped up, congratulating the reporter for visiting the page and standing a chance to “benefit from the 75 billion federal government grant”.
The website went further by asking questions on why a visitor would want to apply for the grant; the amount the visitor would like to apply for; and how a visitor knows about the scheme. These questions are accompanied by varying options.
The ICIR ticked ‘start a new business’ and a verification process which took only four seconds emerged. Having been verified, another message popped up, congratulating the reporter for being “successfully shortlisted” to have access to the grant.
But for the grant to be disbursed, the website asked the reporter to share the claim to twelve WhatsApp groups or friends. This, according to the pop-up message, is to enable other Nigerians to benefit from the scheme.
However, The ICIR conducted a google search using keywords like “75 billion federal government grants” to ascertain the federal government grants initiative.
It turned out to be a post-COVID-19 stimulus package for Micros, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) termed “ MSME survival fund.”
The scheme is a product of the Economic Sustainability Committee Plan aimed at developing a plan to respond to the challenges posed by the economic shock of the Coronavirus pandemic.
The grant which is scheduled to run for an initial period of three months, starting from September 2020, is handled by the federal ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment. It targets 1.7 million entities and individuals across the country, of which 45 percent of the beneficiary would be female-owned enterprises, 5 per cent for businesses owned by people living with disabilities.
Another federal government’s package of 75billion found by The ICIR during the search was the Nigerian Youth Investment Fund (NYIF) under the auspices of the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development. The initiative which is funded by the central bank of Nigeria will spread over three years to cater to youth-owned businesses and investment needs.
However, the fund is a loan package with an interest rate of 5% per annum and a tenor of 5 years with a moratorium of up to 12 months. The announcement added that an individual or non-registered business could draw up to 250,000 Naira while youth-owned registered businesses could apply for up to 3 Million Naira.
This is the arrangement the phoney website cloned when it asked for the amount an individual would like to apply for within the range from #200,000 to 3 million.
Who are the impostors?
The ICIR queried the existence of the hoax website through Whois.net to check the website domain information.
As at the time of filing this report, all forms of information always attached to any website is not available for this website in question.
However, while this check can not explicitly state who and where the website was registered, investigation shows the website was created on 08-05-2020 and scheduled to expire a year after.
Other information about the registrant of the website, such as the phone number and email are also not available.
THE VERDICT:
The claim is FALSE. The website used as the conveyor belt is not only fictitious but also designed to spread false information.
An image of shrouded bodies has been posted multiple times on social media with the claim that it shows casualties from the Lekki toll gate incident which took place on October 20, 2020.
A Facebook user, Emmanuel Rowland, posted the photograph with the caption, “Lekki shooting dead bodies”. The post has been shared over 552 times as at 7:00pm on October 28, 2020.
The picture was also tweeted by a Twitter user, @AdeolaAminu, who later deleted it.
A screenshot of a tweet misinforming the public.
THE CLAIM:
That photo shows casualties from the Lekki Toll Gate incident which happened on October 20, 2020.
THE FINDINGS:
Checks by the FactCheckHub show that the picture is FALSE.
The image predates the Lekki Toll Gate incident and it is of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) popularly referred to as Shi’ites and not of persons protesting Police brutality in Lekki area of Lagos, Nigeria.
Several misleading posts flooded the internet following the aftermath of Tuesday, October 20, 2020, when it was reported that there were gunshots at the Lekki toll gate.
The Lekki toll gate was the epicenter of the protests against police brutality and bad governance under the #EndSARS movement that had rocked the country for days.
The FactCheckHub had earlier fact-checked one of such pictures.
To verify the claim that the image with shrouded bodies are casualties from the #EndSARS protest, the FactCheckHub conducted a reverse image search on the picture using image verification tools such as Google and TinEye.
The findings revealed that the picture was online as far back as November 2, 2018.
The New York Times had used the picture which was credited to Afolabi Sotunde – a Reuters photographer – in a report.
“Members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria preparing the bodies of members killed when the Nigerian Army opened fire during the group’s protests in the capital Abuja this week. Credit: Afolabi Sotunde/Reuters,” the caption of the picture read.
The picture was also used to illustrate news of the incident published by ABC News and CBCNews .
The FactCheckHub also reached out to the photographer, Afolabi Sotunde, who confirmed that he took the photo in 2018.
He said the image shows the burial preparations for bodies of members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria who died as a result of a clash with the Nigerian Army.
“I took the picture for Reuters sometimes in November 2018, when the members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria who were shot by the Nigerian Army were being prepared for burial,” Sotunde told the FactCheckHub in a telephone conversation.
THE VERDICT:
The claim is FALSE. The picture is that of members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria who were killed in 2018 and not from the Lekki Toll Gate incident that happened in 2020.
SEVERAL Nigerian publications on Wednesday, October 28, 2020, reported that Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has emerged as the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
Okonjo-Iweala was a former Minister of Finance as well as Coordinating Minister of the Economy in Nigeria.
She, alongside Yoo Myung-Hee, from South Korea are in competition for the top job.
THE CLAIM:
That Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has emerged as the Director-General for the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
THE FINDINGS:
Checks by the FactCheckHub indicates that this is false.
The information that Okonjo-Iweala has emerged the WTO’s boss was reported by Vanguard Newspaper, which has an online following totaling several millions across platforms.
Peoples Gazette, a newly launched publication also published a similar story about Okonjo-Iweala clinching the WTO’s job.
Within a short period, the report tweeted on the verified handle of the publication @GazetteNGR garnered over 1,800 retweets, more than 2, 600 likes on Twitter, with several reactions and congratulatory messages.
Peoples Gazette, particularly made reference to Arise Television News which had earlier broadcasted the news at about 12:31 pm on Wednesday (October 28).
Newswire also followed suit, but later updated the report after diverse reactions questioning why the publications chose to report the news without official disclosure from the WTO authorities.
Meanwhile, as at press time, no such information about Okonjo-Iweala emerging the WTO’s boss has been officially made available on the website of the WTO as well as its verified social media handles.
None of the publications attributed their reports to any official information from the WTO.
The story so far…
On Wednesday, October 28, 2020, the WTO panel recommended Okonjo-Iweala for the WTO top position, but this was rejected by the United States.
Bloomberg report noted that but for the United States’ position, the WTO would have announced Nigeria’s former finance minister as the new Director-General of the global body.
Although, Okonjo-Iweala is a Nigerian-American, the US government declared its support for the South Korean candidate, Yoo Myung-Hee. The US government had insisted Washington would not recognise the Nigerian as the consensus candidate, despite the WTO’s recommendation.
As of the time of this verification, the WTO is yet to officially announce Okonjo-Iweala as the new WTO DG. No such information on its verified Twitter handle, @wto, or its website.
As a result of the US position, the general counsel in charge of election process has postponed the announcement for November 9, 2020.
This will not be the first time that misinformation around this job will flood the cybersphere. The FactCheckHub had on two occasions; in July here and early October here debunked such misinformation.
THE VERDICT:
Based on the available information, there is no official record to validate the claim that Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has emerged the WTO’s Director-General. Therefore, the claim is FALSE.
Okonjo-Iweala was only endorsed by the WTO panel.
Update:
[23/06/21] In February 2021, Okonjo-Iweala was confirmed as the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
SEVERAL fake and misleading information have found its way to the cyberspace during and following the aftermath of the EndSARS protest that rocked Nigeria.
One of such claims is a post shared with the FactCheckHub on October 24, 2020. It shows two images of a tarred road being destroyed by a group of persons alluded to be Nigerians in Nigeria destroying Nigerian roads.
In one of the images, an individual raised what appears to be a digger, while others stood by watching.
The photograph was attributed to the EndSARS protesters as they expressed their grievances demanding actions against Police brutality and bad governance in Nigeria.
It had the caption, “#ENDSARS against the roads. FG, State roads being destroyed. Me: What concerns roads again?”
This image is unrelated to the EndSARS protest in Nigeria.
THE CLAIM
That the photos show #EndSARS protesters destroying a section of a highway to protest Police brutality, bad governance in Nigeria.
THE FINDINGS
The EndSARS protests erupted in Nigeria in early October across major cities in the country to push for the disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a unit in the Nigeria Police Force (NPF). The protest was largely championed by young persons.
The SARS unit, which focuses on cases of kidnapping, robbery and high-profile crimes, was repeatedly accused of extortions, extrajudicial killings, corruption and human rights’ abuses. As a result, the protesters sought a complete overhaul of the NPF among other demands for a better nation.
Image traced to South Africa
The FactCheckHub‘s check on the images using the Google Reverse Image Search, shows that the viral images did not originate from Nigeria but South Africa.
Protesters in South Africa destroy an access road over service delivery. Image via: uMzinyathi District Municipality from The South African.
The image surfaced on the internet last month – September – and the incident was reported by several South African media organisations.
The road being damaged was part of a protest exercise which occurred along the R33 road on September 22.
The R33 road is a major highway in South Africa that stretches through three provinces Limpopo, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal. It links Pietermaritzburg with Greytown, Paulpietersrburg, Carolina, Belfast and Vaalwater.
The aggrieved demonstrators had protested against poor government performances in providing basic infrastructure such as electricity, water.
Some of the protesters particularly from uMzinyathi District Municipality and Msinga Local Municipality had decried poor access to water.
Nomonde Nzimakwe, Head of Communications for uMzinyathi District confirmed the incident to local (South African) newspapers.
Petros Mthandeni Ngubane, Umzinyathi Mayor criticised the actions of the protesters, while noting that “it’s not the Mayor’s fault,” that the community lacks electricity.
The South African citizens through the South African Citizen Satisfaction Index (SA-CSI) monitor deliverables of government authorities in comparison with public expectations and executed projects.
THE VERDICT
The claim that the photos show #EndSARS protesters destroying a section of a highway to protest Police brutality, bad governance in Nigeria is FALSE. This is because the image is from an unrelated protest in South Africa.
On October 22, 2020, visuals flooded the internet of people carrying food items from a warehouse in Lagos, Nigeria marked with “Not For sale” and “CACOVID-19”.
The visuals were generally accompanied with captions alluding that the palliatives were meant to be distributed to the poor and indigent people during the lockdown period following the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in Nigeria but were cornered and hoarded by an or some individual(s).
A Twitter user @Piousbae012 wrote “COVID- 19 palliative meant for struggling Nigerians as relief during lockdown found locked away in a warehouse. The world has to see this”
Another Twitter user, @2muchAkanni wrote “People were dying of hunger, nobody could go anywhere during the Covid-19 lockdown and someone locked that palliative in his/her warehouse.”
Also, another Twitter user @EndSarsAisha wrote “My people see rice, indomie and other Covid-19 palliative hidden in a warehouse in Lagos”. The 12 seconds video posted by this user, alongside the texts above, had over 3 million views, over 10,000 retweets and likes as at 8:30pm on Friday, October 23.
Similar posts could be found on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and several blogs.
THE CLAIM
That food palliatives meant for distribution during the COVID-19 lockdown period was hoarded by an individual or a group of persons.
A warehouse with CACOVID palliatives. Source: Lagos State Government.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by the FactCheckHub shows that the claim is FALSE.
Media reports indicate that a warehouse where COVID-19 palliatives were kept at Mazamaza community in Amuwo Odofin Local Government area of Lagos State was attacked on Thursday, October 22, 2020 while the food items stored inside were carted away.
The warehouse is located at a place popularly called Monkey Village, the reports noted.
“The looting started as early as 08:00am”, an eyewitness told the Punch Newspaper.
Some of the people who reportedly took these food items also shared visuals of the items in their homes.
The food items were branded with CACOVID stickers.
What is CACOVID?
The Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) is a private sector-led organisation established in March 2020 to assist the Nigerian government in combating the Coronavirus disease in the country.
“This task force is tasked with pulling resources across industries to provide technical and operational support while providing funding and building advocacy through aggressive awareness drives,” its website stated.
The goal is to raise N120 billion, of which 35 per cent has been met, the fundraising thermometer on the website indicates. The list of donors can be seen here.
The CACOVID initiative is spearheaded by Aliko Dangote, Herbert Wigwe and other private sector leaders alongside the Nigerian government.
The initiative has a Food relief programme and has distributed such to Kogi, Anambra, Edo, Ogun and Sokoto states, among others. These food items were kept in warehouses before distribution to the beneficiaries.
Lagos State Government reacts to hoarding claim and vandalisation of warehouse
The Lagos State Government through its Acting Commissioner of Agriculture, Abisola Olusanya, said the food items that were looted by people was donated to the state by the CACOVID initiative.
Olusanya noted that “The State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, had on September 22nd 2020 formally taken receipt of the food palliatives from the CACOVID team meant for distribution to the indigent.”
She explained that “the warehouse in question is not State-owned and its usage was made available to the CACOVID group. The State Government had been allowed to commence re-bagging of food items allotted to it from the quantities meant for South-West States.
“The re-bagging was being done to account for each beneficiary receipt, as was required.
“The distribution was on-going but had to be halted due to protests, before the invasion of the warehouse today,” Olusanya explains.
The statements put forward that:
The items were not hoarded.
The items were not in their possession for months as alluded.
The palliative was gotten in September after the lockdown was relaxed.
They had started distribution and had to stop due to protest.
Verifying the Lagos State Government’s Claims
Attempts to contact the CACOVID team via the mobile number on its website as well as its Twitter and Instagram handles were not successful as its mobile line was switched off while its social media accounts were not open for Direct Messaging (DM) respectively.
A check through the Instagram page of CACOVID shows that the distribution of palliatives is not limited to the lockdown period which was relaxed in May 2020.
A video on the page shows a flag-off of the initiative’s food relief programme in Sokoto state. The first speaker said in the video said they are “continuing the third phase” – which implies that the initiative has several phases.
Similarly, the Plateau state Governor, Simon Lalong as at September 18 said, “We are still expecting rice consignment from the CACOVID donation which will be distributed to the beneficiaries.”
Media reports also noted that Imo state received and distributed the food palliatives from CACOVID in June, July and September 2020.
Bauchi State flag-off of CACOVID food relief programme with the time stamp on the image showing August, 11, 2020.
Videos of the food relief flag-off in Edo and Nasarawa states among others – all had visuals of food items in large warehouses similar to the one vandalised in Lagos.
As such, it is not unlikely that the food items in the vandalised warehouse came after the lockdown period.
In addition, a report by the Business Day news platform, published on September 23, states that the Lagos State Government received food items from the CACOVID initiative noting that the food items will be repackaged to ensure that each beneficiary gets the right quantity of items.
Reports from Thisday, Guardian, Alimosho Today indicate that Lagos had commenced distribution of the palliatives as stated.
“The distribution team was led by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Folashade Jaji.
The coalition visited Okegun-Odofin, Egan in Alimosho Local Government, Eti-Osa Local Government, Otto in Lagos Mainland Local Government and ljeododo in Ojo Local Government among others” part of the report reads.
How Sadiya Farouq and the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development came into the conversation
It means Sadiya Umar Farouq actually gave those palliatives to our states representatives & they hoard them for 2023. This is total Wickedness & greed. Please, can we just go burst other hoarded palliatives?
A Twitter user @Prof_aboki wrote: “It means Sadiya Umar Farouq actually gave those palliatives to our states representatives and they hoard them for 2023. This is total wickedness and greed. Please, can we just go burst other hoarded palliatives?”
Another user, @AdekunbiOyelade, whose post has garnered over three million views wrote: “I have never seen anything like this. Okay. I didn’t agree Sadiya Umar Farouq shared any palliatives, but this looks like a warehouse was the sole beneficiary. #warehousegate”
So also @Ameer_Abdul1, wrote: “On a lighter note, Lagos people now know that neither the President Muhammadu Buhari nor the Minister for humanitarian affairs, Mrs Sadiya Umar Farouq were responsible for denying them Covid-19 palliatives. Citizens of other States now know who to blame.”
Comments like the three above flooded the internet at the wake of the viral visuals of vandalised warehouse.
Sadiya Umar Farouq, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development of Nigeria.
This is probably because there are discontentment in some quarters following the distribution of palliatives during the lockdown period by the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian affairs, Disaster management and Social development (FMHDS) headed by Sadiya Farouq.
In addition, the ministry has been in the news for an alleged diversion of over two billion Naira meant for palliatives. This was however, refuted by the ministry.
Therefore, the people who had felt the ministry did not distribute palliatives now put forward that the alleged hoarding explains why the items did not get to the masses in the country.
Contrary to the above, the food items in the warehouse were not from the humanitarian ministry, neither were they in-charge of the distribution.
The ministry, in a report disassociating itself from it, stated that it “wishes to inform the general public that it has nothing to do with the items found in that Lagos warehouse.”
THE VERDICT
The claim is FALSE as available evidence did not indicate that the food palliatives were hoarded by an individual or a group of persons. Available information shows that the food items were geared as a COVID-19 palliative and not restricted to the lockdown period, neither were the items stored in the warehouse for months as claimed by some social media users.
After gaining access to the page, another message popped up, congratulating the reporter for visiting the page and standing a chance to “benefit from the 75 billion federal government grant”.
