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Was this man struck, “roasted” by thunderstorm while receiving phone call?

Opeyemi Kehinde
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Was this man struck, “roasted” by thunderstorm while receiving phone call?

A VIRAL post  retrieved from WhatsApp on July 16, shows picture of a burnt human with a caption claiming that the person was struck and “roasted” by “thunder” (lightning bolt) while receiving  a phone call in the rain.

The photograph recently has been shared several times on  tWhatsApp, Twitter, Sharechat groups and Facebook,though The ICIR could not ascertain the origin of the image.

Some Nigerian blogs including OG Media Hub Nigeria and other Facebook pages like Orumba TV also published the image with a similar caption.

THE CLAIM

The caption reads “This roasted man was receiving phone call in the rain, thunder struck and he was roasted as you can see on the floor. Never receive or make calls while rain is falling heavily with thunderstorms.”

The claim as shared on a Facebook page, Orumba TV.

The post has three claims, namely:

  1. That the man was receiving phone call in the rain
  2. That thunder -lightning- struck and the man was burnt (roasted).
  3. That receiving or making calls during thunderstorms can get one burnt (roasted).

THE FINDINGS

Claim 1

Forensic analysis carried out by The ICIR on the photo using InVid WeVerify application shows that the image was not manipulated, except for the texts printed at the upper edge of the photo.

Forensic analysis of the photo using InVid app.

Also, an image search of the photo using Google Reverse Image reveals that the photo was first shared on Twitter in June 2018, but without the printed text or caption.

Although search for that particular image with the caption on any news website yielded no result, findings by The ICIR show that two Twitter users with the handles: @Mano07512038 and @kaja_maiden shared that same image with other photos allegedly of the same incident involving the burnt man on June 11, 2018 and June 12, 2018 respectively.

Screenshot of tweet of the photos shared by Twitter user: @kaja_maiden on June 12, 2018.

The ICIR digged deeper and discovered that the burnt person in the image was that of a retired teacher who was found dead inside his burnt car in Ambalakkulangara, near Kakkattil, in Kozhikode district, Kerala state in India on June 6, 2018.

The deceased was identified as Koyyalummal Nanu, from Koyyal, a news website, www.OnManorama.com  reported. It was also reported in the Malayalam language edition of the website.

Screenshot of the news reported by Onmanorama.com on June 6, 2018.

When the image was subjected to further search using TinEye, it came out with five results which indicated that another news website, Mathrubhumi, also reported the incident on June 7, 2018.

To ascertain the authenticity of the images, especially the one showing the burnt man alongside those used on the news sites, The ICIR contacted the journalist who reported the story on www.OnManorama.com via email and Twitter.

The journalist, Anupama Mili, who replied via Twitter, confirmed that the photos were of the same incident that she reported.

Also, when asked to confirm if the ‘burnt man’ in the photo was the same victim mentioned in her report (as published on the news site), she said “Yes, this is.”

Screenshot of Anupama’s response to The ICIR’s enquiry via Twitter.

Kuttyadi Police Inspector, Sunil Kumar, told Mathrubhumi.com that he (the burnt man) may have set himself on fire by pouring petrol on his body.

Although no post-mortem report was received, Sunil Kumar pointed out that the doctors had informed him that the cause of death was suicide.

Experts also pointed out that the cause of the car burning was not a short circuit or any other accident, the news report stated.

From all the media reports, The ICIR was able to confirm that the man was burnt by, and reportedly died from, the fire which spread from petrol kept inside his car.

Similarly, the local Police neither retrieved any phone from the scene of the incident nor mentioned it among items recovered from the scene, according to media reports.

It is therefore evident to conclude that the man was not receiving phone call in the rain when the incident happened.

Claim 2

Further findings by The ICIR reveal that none of the locals who reported the incident to the Police and fire brigade mentioned that there was any thunderstorm or rain around the area when the incident occurred, though the ground around the scene of the incident was wet (as seen in the photos).

The ICIR could not independently verify the cause of the wetness at the scene of the incident, but believes this may not be unconnected with the water used by the fire brigade in putting out the fire from the victim’s car.

SCREENSHOT: Result of the Google Reverse Image search conducted on the photo.

Moreso, local Police in the area reportedly told the media that “the fire is obviously spread from inside” of the car.

This invalidates the claim that “thunder” – lightning-  struck and the man was “roasted” as a result of the thunderstorm.

Thunder is the sound caused by lightning, It is however the lighting that strikes.

Claim 3

Findings by The ICIR show that there is a misconception globally that cell phones attract lightning strike which may burn (roast) the person receiving phone call during a rainy weather.

John Jensenius, lightning safety specialist for the U.S. National Weather Service, reportedly said, “If someone is struck by lightning and they have a cell phone on them, it will usually melt or burn. People have taken that and blamed the cell phone, but in reality it is unrelated.”

Although there are media reports of people killed or injured by lightning, including that of a man struck by lightning while talking on his cell phone in Kuala Lumpur in 1999, “It’s the place you’re located that is more of a concern than anything else. If you’re near a cell phone tower, that’s bad because lightning will come and hit the cell phone tower,” said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist, Dan Kottlowski.

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) also affirmed Kottlowski’s position, saying lightning is not attracted to people carrying mobile phones.

“People are struck because they are in the wrong place at the wrong time. The wrong place is anywhere outside. The wrong time is anytime a thunderstorm is nearby,” it stated.

Further findings by The ICIR reveal that using a corded telephone during a rainy-stormy weather or thunderstorm is discouraged because the phone is physically connected by wires to the outside.

“A cellphone, however, has no such physical connection and the electric current from a nearby lightning strike cannot reach it. It is perfectly safe to use a cellphone during a thunderstorm,” the Chicago Tribune reported.

Lightning. PHOTO CREDITS: Pexels.com

A similar fact-check done by www.Snopes.com on the topic also corroborated the fact that using cell phones during stormy weather is safe.

Part of the reports reads “Cell phones (and cordless portable phones) used indoors during electrical storms are perfectly safe because there is no wire through which the electrical discharge could travel. (The belief that lightning can “follow the radio waves” into a cell phone is completely unfounded.)

“And although some people feel cell phones pose a risk when used outdoors because lightning is attracted to metal (it’s not — metal is merely good at conducting electrical currents), handsets generally contain insignificant amounts of metal,” it concluded.

The caption on the picture did not indicate what kind of phones it was referring too, because electrical discharge  could travel through a land line phone with outlet wiring connected to a phone service provider.

It is however unlikely that the man was in his car with a land line telephone on the road.

THE VERDICT

From the information obtained;

  1. The claim that the man was receiving phone call in the rain is FALSE.
  2. The claim that thunder – lightning – struck and the man was burnt “roasted” is also FALSE.
  3. The claim that receiving or making calls during thunderstorms can get one burnt (roasted) is MOSTLY FALSE.However, when hit by a lightning bolt electrical discharge can pass through a land line telephone with outlet wires, this is not applicable to the ubiquitous cell phone.

Did Oyetola spend 3 days in Abuja without seeing Buni?

Samad UTHMAN
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Did Oyetola spend 3 days in Abuja without seeing Buni?

A POST with several claims about 2023 presidency and the internal leadership tussle in the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) party went viral on WhatsApp last week.

The post first surfaced on the 17th July.

The post was also shared on Facebook and blogs.

One of the claims in the post is that the Governor of Osun State, Gboyega Oyetola, was in Abuja for three days and was not able to see Governor Mai Mala Buni, who is the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Caretaker Committee.

Gboyega is also a member of the APC.

THE CLAIM

Part of the WhatsApp post reads – (SIC) “You can confirm from the Governor of Osun State, Mr Oyetola, he was in Abuja for three days and couldn’t see  Governor Mai Mala Buni because both Mai Mala Buni and Akeredolu group didn’t want to allow him and other pro Asiwaju Bola Tinubu group in the Committee to discuss the MODE OF PRIMARY FOR ONDO STATE APC GOVERNORSHIP ELECTION”

The claim:   Oyetola spent three days in Abuja without seeing Buni

THE FINDINGS

On the 17 of July at 9:35pm, Governor Oyetola spokesman, Ismaila Omipidan shared photos of Oyetola and Buni on Facebook.

Omipidan captioned it “Pictures don’t lie”.

He went further to  write that the pictures were taken before the commencement of the caretakers committee meeting at the party Secretariat.

The ICIR also reached out to Omipidan and he restated that Oyetola met with Buni.

He said: “There is nothing true about the post (WhatsApp post). It is nothing but false. Those two leaders were together and meeting all through our stay in Abuja”.

The ICIR also contacted Mamman Muhammad, the spokesperson of Governor Buni, he confirmed that the parities in question met.

Muhammad said: “The last time they were here at the secretariat of the party, I saw the man (Oyetola) myself with my principal many times together. What kind of cheap blackmail  is that!”

Referring to the the claim, he said  “nothing like that happened, the information is false”.

THE VERDICT: 

From the information presented above, the claim that Oyetola spent three days in Abuja without seeing Buni is therefore, FALSE

Can use of face shields without masks increase cases of COVID-19?

Olugbenga ADANIKIN
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Can use of face shields without masks increase cases of COVID-19?

A STATEMENT attributed to the  Ghana Medical Association (GMA) and the West African College of Surgeons (Ghana Chapter) issuing a warning on the danger posed by using face shields alone has gone viral on the internet, blogs, social media.

The statement claimed that using face shields without face masks could lead to further spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

As at the time of this report neither the GMA nor the West African College of Surgeons have debunked the statement. They neither responded to the numerous calls and messages – spanning several days – from The ICIR to confirm if the statement was actually from them.

The statement accused blogs of misinforming the public that using face masks could cause a build-up of carbon dioxide.

THE CLAIM

The joint press statement dated Wednesday, July 16, 2020 and allegedly signed by Dr. Frank Ankobea, GMA President and Prof. Peter Donkor, the first Vice President and Country Representative of the West African College of Surgeons in Ghana makes two claims:

 

The statement from Ghana Medical Association (GMA) and the West African College of Surgeons (Ghana chapter)

CLAIM 1:

That “continuous use of face shields without masks by the general public will lead to increase cases of COVID-19”

CLAIM 2:

That “emerging scientific evidence has shown that COVID-19 has the potential to spread through the air.”

 

THE FINDINGS

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends the use of face masks as a preventive measure against COVID-19.

The United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also shared the same position on the importance of using face masks for self-protection and to slow the spread of the disease.

Dr. Robert Redfield, the US, CDC Director in a release issued by the Center, Tuesday, July 14, 2020, emphasised how the use of face masks could protect families and communities from being infected.

“Cloth face coverings are one of the most powerful weapons we have to slow and stop the spread of the virus – particularly when used universally within a community setting. All Americans have a responsibility to protect themselves, their families, and their communities,” Redfield said.

The ICIR contacted the World Health Organisation (WHO) Nigeria to further verify the claims.

The Infection, Prevention and Control Expert with the WHO, Nigeria, Prof. Adebola Olayinka, said using the mask reduces the virus transmission not face shields.

“That is actually very right. In fact, it is something we have also been discussing because many people now use face shields,” Olayinka said while commenting on the first claim.

She described the issue of community spread as a major concern emphasising that “what will really help to reduce community transmission is the mask and not the shield.”

Olayinka noted that the phrasing of the statement on face shield increasing coronavirus cases could have been better stated.

“Although, the way they put it that the use of it (face shield) will increase, I think it will be better to say the use of face shields would not help us reduce the transmission.

“The use of face shields alone without masks will not help us reduce transmission of the virus,” she noted.

On the second claim, Olayinka concurred with the claim about COVID-19 being potentially airborne, but with a caveat.

She was specific about conditions COVID-19 could become airborne especially in cramped places, crowded locations that are poorly ventilated.

“It is not completely correct because yes, there are emerging piece of evidence that there could be potential airborne transmission in confined places, crowded places and places where there is poor ventilation. We have some conditions attached to it.

“So, there is that potential for it to spread but how easily it spread, we are not really sure but we know that it spread by droplets and also there have been articles based on experiments that have shown it could stay in the air for some time.

“How long it does or not but of course if the ventilation is good, then the chances are much more reduced but if people stay closer together in confined places, then the chances increase.”

Her comment was similar to the position of the WHO International.

The WHO defines airborne transmission as, “the spread of an infectious agent caused by the dissemination of droplet nuclei (aerosols) that remain infectious when suspended in air over long distances and time.”

WHO’s brief on COVID-19 transmission mode

On July 7, the global body published an updated scientific brief on the transmission mode of SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19.

The document affirmed the disease could be transmitted through respiratory secretions or droplets expelled on hard surfaces from a confirmed case.

It stated that the airborne transmission of the virus could occur during medical operations that generate aerosols.

Aside that , there are theories that the virus, especially from an infected person could escape through normal breathing and talking via the aerosols. However, this would largely depend on the quantity of the breath out droplets “and the infectious dose of viable COVID-19 virus.”

The WHO brief which was backed up with 99 references, however, called for an in-depth high-quality research to clarify the different mode the virus could be transmitted, the role of airborne transmission and the proportion of COVID-19 virus required for the disease transmission to occur.

Likewise, a study conducted by a group of scientists from China and US to examine if COVID-19 is airborne showed that the virus could spread in enclosed places such as buses and conference rooms.

The study, released in April 2020 was conducted on samples taken from 293 Buddhists and 30 trainees. It, however, concluded on the likelihood of airborne transmission.

In an open letter to the WHO, a group of 239 scientists from 32 countries also agreed on growing evidence that COVID-19 is airborne.

More experts’ opinion

Sunday Omilabu a Professor of Virology, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) shared further insights on the need for face masks, and not just the use of face shields alone like obtainable.

The Face shield, Omilabu said is to protect medical officials who take samples from individuals and the idea was to prevent splashes of particles from patients during sample collection.

He said both items serve different purposes, thus face shields should not replace face masks.

“…you can see that it is not only the face shield they (medical personnel) put on. They also have the face mask on,” the Omalibu said while stressing that face mask is to protect the nose and mouth.

On the second claim, the virologist agreed that the virus causing COVID-19 could spread through the air.

He explained that since the virus attacks the respiratory tract and it is lighter compared to bacteria, it could be transmitted by air.

“All along, I have that belief that the virus can be airborne because it is released through saliva. Since all these pathogens are released into the air, the wind has that capacity to transport it, to move it from one place to the other.

“And because the virus attacks the respiratory tract, that gives it the power of being transmitted by air. Most of the respiratory tract infections are airborne. So, it’s not unexpected because it (the virus) is carried by air and air can move it from one place to the other and the virus particles are very light when you compared them to bacteria.”

The ICIR also contacted Dr Emmanuel Balogun, a lecturer in the  Biochemistry Department of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, he said ‘it is absolutely wrong’, to discard face masks for face shields.

“Taking away the masks and using the face shield alone does not protect you because this is a disease that can be transmitted to you through droplets and this thing can travel far.”

Balogun buttressed his point that individuals could still touch their mouths after touching contaminated surfaces while having the face shield on without masks. But, it is safer when the face mask is on.

On the question, if the virus is airborne, the Varsity teacher shared a similar position with the WHO and the other experts.

He said the possibility of the virus being airborne is high as it could be transmitted through aerosols citing an instance of when an infected person coughs.

The ICIR further attempted to authenticate the statement but every efforts to reach out to the GMA via an email and official phone line failed.

THE VERDICT

From the evidence above the claim that “continuous use of face shields without masks by the general public will lead to increase cases of COVID-19” is TRUE.

The claim that “emerging scientific evidence has shown that COVID-19 has the potential to spread through the air” is also TRUE.

Was a baby born holding the mother’s failed IUD?

Bamas Victoria
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Was a baby born holding the mother’s failed IUD?

A REPORT alluding that a newborn baby was born holding the mother’s intrauterine device, IUD, has gone viral on the social media.

Aside the social media, different variations of the report alluding that the child came out of the womb holding the device abound on blogs and some news websites.

Tuko, a platform that describes itself as one of Kenya’s leading news site has a variation of the report with the headline  “Defiant baby comes out of womb tightly holding mum’s failed IUD in his hand”.

The report had garnered over 82,000 views on the website as at Monday noon (July 20).

THE CLAIM

The baby came out of its mother’s womb holding her failed IUD in his hand.

THE FINDINGS

The ICIR was able to trace the origin of the picture to the Facebook page of Hai Phong International General Hospital.

On June 30, 2020, the hospital, located in the city of Hai Phong in northern Vietnam, posted two photos of a newborn baby holding an IUD device and a third photo with the device by the side.

As at Monday noon when this report was filed, the photo has received over 3,600 likes, garnered over 3,900 comments and had been shared over 4,400 times on the page.

Dr Tran Viet Phuong, one of the heads of the hospital’s obstetrics department where the child was born told a Vietnamese Newspaper – VN Express International – that when the boy was born, the device came out with him and he grabbed it.

The IUD came out at the same time as the baby, but separately – it was only after being born that the infant grabbed the coil, the newspaper reported.

Phuong said “After delivery, I thought him holding the device was interesting, so I took a picture. I never thought it would receive so much attention.”

An IUD is a birth control device placed in the uterus, it prevents the sperm from fertilising an egg.

“But it does not have a 100 percent success rate,” said Phuong. “Upon its insertion, the device might have been moved from its original position and thus was no longer effective,” the doctor explained.

Dr. Malachy Emeka Ayogu, an obstetrician and gynecologist (OBGYN) at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada in Nigeria, told The ICIR that “nothing is impossible in medicine but it is very rare for pregnancy to occur with IUD in situ.”

Dr. Ayogu warned that people should be “mindful of this era of photoshopping where images can be manipulated to mean anything.”

He stated that “Failure rate for IUD failure is actually less than 1%”

On the claim that the baby was born holding the birth control device, he said “It is difficult to explain how a baby could hold an IUD on the palm after all the processes involved in the mechanism of labour unless Caesarean delivery was the option. In fact, it can’t be explained scientifically.”

This isn’t the first time that similar post will go viral on social media alluding that a baby was born holding the mother’s birth control device.

In 2017, Snopes did a report about a photo that went viral with a misleading caption. The mother had posted a picture of her newborn holding a Mirena-brand birth control device along with the caption “Mirena Fail.”

The image was later re-shared to mean the baby was born holding the IUD.

Dr. Leena Nathan, an OBGYN and assistant clinical professor for the University of California at Los Angeles in the report said it would be impossible, however, for a newborn to be delivered holding such a device because there would be no way for the IUD to get inside the amniotic sac, a fluid-filled membrane that envelops a foetus while it grows inside the womb.

THE VERDICT

From the evidence presented above, the claim that the child came out from the mother’s womb holding the IUD, is therefore, FALSE.

 

UPDATE – 26 July 2020.
Tuko has corrected the report on its website reflecting that the baby was not born clutching on the IUD but it came out separately, he just grabbed it later.

The news platform in a communication with the ICIR said “the error was not intentional.”

It stated that “We offer our apologies and assurance that the error was not intentional as we strive to feed our audience with facts-based stories at all times”.

Is it safe to be in an aircraft without physical distancing?

Opeyemi Kehinde
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Is it safe to be in an aircraft without physical distancing?

Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, on July 11 claimed that it is safe to be in an aircraft cabin without physical distancing amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

He made the comment when he led a team of aviation industry stakeholders and the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja to the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) in Kano.

The trip was to assess the airport’s readiness for resumption of domestic flights following the coronavirus-induced lockdown of the nation’s aviation sector.

The claim was published in many national dailies including The Nation, ThisDay and Guardian.

It has also generated a lot of public debate and reactions from Nigerians.

 

THE CLAIM

Sirika in the news report said “However, let me explain the mechanics and the going ons in an airplane that makes it safe in COVID-19 period. Airplanes are designed in such a way that the ambient air at altitudes is clean. It is not contaminated.

“The air is dropped in the aircraft, pressurised and because of pressurisation, the temperature of the air goes up to 200 degrees which is twice boiling water and there is no bacteria or virus that can survive it and it is suddenly cooled to about 2 degrees centigrade and then it is passed to a filter.

“Passing through the filtration system ensures that every single organism is screened and then it is passed to the cabin and once it is passed through the cabin, it comes from the ceiling downwards.

“So, it is not coming from the cockpit to the rear, it is from the ceiling downwards and it drops on the floor and gets circulated.

“This circulation happens every two minutes. So, on a flight from Abuja to Lagos, the circulation will happen like 27 to 30 times. With this, it is ensured that it is more hygienic to be in an airplane than to be in an operating theatre in the hospital” .

FILE PHOTO: Lagos airport.

Sirika added  that “With this mechanism in place, everything will be safe provided that we are decontaminating the airplane before we enter and decontaminating after we leave and also cleaning all the possible surfaces that one will touch.

“If this continues, then everyone is safe to remain in the cabin seated next to each other with the mask on. So with this, yes you can be without physical distancing but in the departure and arrival halls and everywhere including the buses, you must remain physically distanced like at least six feet or two metres.”

The minister made two claims:

  1. That it is safe to be in an aircraft without physical distancing amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
  2. That it is more hygienic to be in an airplane than to be in an operating theatre in the hospital?

 

THE FINDINGS

Claim 1

Findings obtained by The ICIR from Embraer, one of the leading global aircraft manufacturers, show that keeping safe physical distance on an airplane may not be necessary for one major reason; because “cabin air circulation and ventilation inside an aircraft are carefully engineered to disperse and re-direct contaminants.”

It states further: “In fact, most aircraft exchange their entire volume of cabin air 20 to 30 times more frequently than the air in an office, and 5 to 6 times more than hospitals.

Air circulation in an aircraft. PHOTO CREDITS: Embraer.com

“The air in an Embraer E-Jet cabin is completely refreshed at least 20 times every hour. The air circulates through strategically placed vents and upper and lower air inlets around the overhead bins.

“We conducted a series of CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) tests and simulations of cabin air flow years ago during development of our E-Jets.

“Our objective was to ensure that airborne contaminants were effectively directed away from passengers. In other words, droplets, like those generated by talking, coughing, and sneezing, are dispersed vertically and channelled away from other passengers as much as possible.

“We found that the correct positioning of the PSU gaspers in relation to a person’s head, and the resulting airflow, creates a kind of air curtain, or air barrier. The cone-shaped flow pattern from the gasper directs particles to air return grills located near the cabin floor. This minimizes cross-contamination between rows although the seat banks themselves serve as natural blocks to exhaled droplets. Forward-facing seats also minimize direct face-to-face passenger interaction.”

Air quality in an aircraft. PHOTO CREDITS: Embraer.com

Embraer noted that the most common droplets that people expel are between 4 and 8 microns in size. “The heavier ones fall close by and collect on surfaces, like seats and clothing. The smaller ones, however, can remain suspended.”

“Aircraft-grade High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters, like those on every E-Jet, are extremely efficient. In fact, they’re 99.97 per cent effective in trapping airborne particles and other bio-contaminants as small as 0.3 microns.”

Furthermore, a briefing paper on the ‘Cabin air quality – Risk of communicable diseases transmission’ for the  the  International Air Transport Association, IATA, states that “the risk on airplanes is probably lower than in many confined spaces because modern airplanes have cabin air filtration systems equipped with HEPA filters.”

Using the European air filter efficiency classification, The IATA  describes HEFA filter as any filter element rated between 85 per cent and 99.995 per cent removal efficiency.

In an interview with The ICIR, Professor Sunday Omilabu, a Professor of Virology at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos – Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), said the claim by the aviation minister that it is safe to be in an aircraft without physical distancing “may be hinged on the fact that the passengers are all using face masks.”

“So, I may agree with him on that” while adding that, all passengers wearing face masks ‘will limit the transmission of the virus particles.”

A graph showing air quality in an aircraft when compared to an hospital and other building. PHOTO CREDITS: Embraer.com

He pointed out that “if you want to really prevent transmission, maintaining a distance would help because when the virus is released, it cannot travel a long distance; that’s what informed the idea of within a two-meters distance among each other.

“But inside the aircraft, that will be difficult to observe; so I think that’s why we should all put on our face masks and then they restrict all on-boarding activities.”

Similarly, Dr Emmanuel Oluwadare Balogun, a lecturer at the Biochemistry Department of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria also agreed with the minister’s claim.

“I think it’s safe as long as air passengers and crew maintain the minimum safety advice,” he told The ICIR but warned that “if it’s not absolutely important, we shouldn’t travel. But when we travel, we should just try to maintain the minimum safety regulations and advice.”

Further findings by The ICIR show that Nigerian airline operators who resumed flight operation across the country days ago ensured that air passengers wear their face masks within airport vicinity and onboard aircraft.

This, according to the Captain Ado Sanusi (retired), the Chief Executive Officer of Aero Contractors, was in line with the Nigerian Government’s directives and the World Health Organisation (WHO) travel advice as well as the COVID-19 advisory guidelines of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

 

Claim 2

A document obtained by The ICIR from IATA shows that the risk of catching any infection on an aircraft is typically lower than in any other place, including an hospital, a shopping centre or an office environment.

“We assess that the risk is lower. Compared with those locations, a modern aircraft has its cabin air changed many times more frequently than offices or shops.

“For most modern aircraft types, the air supplied to the passenger cabin is either 100% fresh or is a mixture of fresh and re-circulated air that is filtered through HEPA filters of the same efficacy (99.97% or better) in removing viruses as those used in surgical operating rooms.

“As in a shopping centre or an office, the biggest risk is if someone remains in the environment while unwell with a viral infection. Hence, maintain good personal hygiene is key,” it stated.

Is it, therefore, more hygienic to be in an airplane than to be in an hospital’s theatre room?

“That is not absolutely true,” Dr. Balogun said.

He added: “I guess what the minister is trying to say is that the inside of a cabin without passengers is clean, neat and not risky. The reason for that is because most aircrafts have in the air circulation system what we called the HEPA filters. These HEPA filters remove over 99.9 per cent of any particles suspended.

“But by the time you have the passengers in there, then it can no longer be as clean as he thinks it is. Even while seated in the aircraft, wear your mask and then at regular intervals, have your hand sanitizer with you and use it regularly.”

Also speaking, Professor Omilabu noted that “there is a limit to what the filter can take when you have too many people now releasing air into the cabin. So, the possibility of over tasking the filter can be there.”

He noted that the theatre too is supposed to be sterile. “But there are possibilities of jeopardizing that sterility depending on the procedure going on in the theatre. And you know that patient being operated needs to be protected because they’re exposing his body to pathogens. So, these are two different set up.”

But Embraer maintained that most aircraft exchange their entire volume of cabin air 20 to 30 times more frequently than the air in an office, “and 5 to 6 times more than hospitals,” thus making the cabin more hygienic than a hospital in general.

However, speaking specifically about some hospital areas like the operating theatre, the IATA put forward that the aircraft cabin uses a similar re circulation system as that of an operating theatre.

While speaking about HEPA in planes the IATA stated that “For their production of aircraft with cabin air re-circulation systems, manufacturers have chosen the higher efficiency filters, which are similar to what you would find in a hospital operating theatre”.

 

THE VERDICT

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

  1. The claim that it is safe to be in an aircraft without physical distancing amidst the COVID-19 is TRUE.
  2. The claim that it is more hygienic to be in an airplane than to be in an operating theatre in the hospital is  MOSTLY TRUE  this is because modern aircraft cabin have HEPA filters which gives it a better air circulation than a hospital in general. However specific areas in a hospital like the operating theatre also uses similar higher efficiency filters.

Did Amina Mohammed beat Okonjo Iweala for the WTO’s top job?

Niyi Oyedeji
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Did Amina Mohammed beat Okonjo Iweala for the WTO’s top job?

ON Thursday, July 16, Dele Momodu, a Nigerian journalist and publisher of The Ovation magazine claimed that Kenya’s Amina Mohammed has beaten Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for the World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General’s position.

The claim which was started with the kicker “Breaking News” was tweeted on his twitter handle @DeleMomodu around 6:30pm.

Momodu has over 1.2 million followers on his verified handle. The tweet garnered 370 likes, 170 retweets and 64 comments before it was deleted.

A news medium, City News also posted a similar report on its website.

 

CLAIM

The tweet reads: “Breaking News: Kenya’s Amina Mohammed beats Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo Iweala for the WTO’S top Job.

The claim here is : Did Kenya’s Amina Mohammed beats Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo Iweala for the WTO’s top job?

 

The Claim by Dele Momodu

FINDINGS

Findings by THE ICIR revealed that although both Okonjo Iweala and Amina Mohammed are among the eight contestants jostling for the position of the WTO’s Director-General position, no one has been elected for the position.

While Amina Mohammed is Kenya’s candidate for the job , Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, Nigeria’s former Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy is the Nigeria’s candidate for the same job.

A check on the WTO’s website further revealed that nomination period for the 2020 DG selection process ended on 8 July and they are currently at the phase where the candidates are being invited to meet with members at a special General Council meeting, which is scheduled to hold from 15 to 17 July.

In addition, according to the information on the WTO’s website, the second phase of the process in which the candidates “make themselves known to members” will end on 7 September.  After which the third phase would commence.

The third stage is expected to take place within a period of two months, which may involve more than one stage of consultations as members seek to narrow the field of candidates.

Further checks by The ICIR revealed that Dele Momodu has tweeted a correction to his earlier tweet stating that Amina Mohammed has not been confirmed for the WTO top job. He apologised for his action.

His tweet reads: “CORRECTION… Just received news that AMINA MOHAMED has not been confirmed for the W.T.O job but nominated by KENYA… The interviews are still ongoing…

“So is Nigeria. Even after NGOZI OKONJO-IWEALA’S interview the Nigerian delegation is still with Ngozi in Geneva. Very sorry.”

VERDICT

Based on the available information the claim that Kenya’s Amina Mohammed beats Nigeria’s Okonjo Iweala for the WTO’s top job is FALSE.

Did WHO share viral message on ‘7 biggest brain-damaging habits’?

Olugbenga ADANIKIN
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Did WHO share viral message on ‘7 biggest brain-damaging habits’?

A  MESSAGE with the headline “7 biggest brain-damaging habits”, attributed to the World Health Organisation (WHO), has been trending on social media.

This message has gone viral on WhatsApp and other social media like Pinterest.

A variation of the message on other social platforms was however not attributed to WHO.

THE CLAIM

That  the WHO shared nuggets on “7 biggest brain damaging habits”. The habits listed include; “missing breakfast”, “sleeping late”, “high sugar consumption”, “more sleeping specially at morning”, “eating meal while watching TV or computer”, “wearing cap/scarf or socks while sleeping” and “habit of blocking/stopping urine.”

THE FINDINGS

A preliminary check showed that the claim is filled with typographical and grammatical errors.

It reads, (sic) “Don’t Just ReadForward to whom you careAs I care for U” with the word ‘you’ represented as an abbreviation “u” and spaces between some words omitted.

Therefore, it is unlikely that the WHO would issue a public information message in this pattern.

The claim was subjected to internet search and further findings revealed that a similar claim appeared on the internet in 2017.

It had similar content except for the quoted caption and graphics. While the claim under verification was attributed to the WHO, the latter was referenced to another organisation.

As part of the verification process, the WHO Nigeria office also debunked the claim that the message originated from its office.

Charity Warigon, Head of Communications, WHO Nigeria, told The ICIR  via a phone call that, “Certainly, it doesn’t sound WHO at all.”

She asked for the viral claim to be forwarded to her through the WhatsApp platform. This was done, and in her response, she labelled it as fake.

“This is FAKE,” Warigon stated.

THE VERDICT

Based on the above findings,  WHO did not send out the circulated message. Therefore, the attribution to WHO is FALSE.

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.

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