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

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

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

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

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

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

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

THE CLAIM

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

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

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

“APC is a fraud.”

There are three claims from the tweet, namely:

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

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

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

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

THE FINDINGS

CLAIM 1

APC accuses Ize-Iyamu of looting 700 million in 2015

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

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

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

 

CLAIM 2

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

CLAIM 3

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

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

 

THE VERDICT

From all evidence obtained

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

Report on Thompson Oliha’s death MISLEADING

Olugbenga ADANIKIN
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Report on Thompson Oliha’s death MISLEADING

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

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

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

THE CLAIM

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

THE FINDINGS

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

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

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

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

The Misleading news report as shared in a WhatsApp group.

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

Abdulraheem clarified that the deceased died seven years ago.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Oliha was from Edo State.

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

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

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

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

THE VERDICT

Based on all evidence available, the claim is MISLEADING.

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

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

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

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

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

 

THE CLAIM

The transcripts of the voice note reads:

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

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

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

There are three claims from the voice note, namely:

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

 

THE FINDINGS

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

THE VERDICT

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

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

Therefore, two out of the three claims are TRUE.

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

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

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

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

 

THE CLAIM

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

The viral WhatsApp post.

 

THE FINDINGS  

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

THE VERDICT

The claim, therefore, is  FALSE.

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

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

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

Ahmad said the application was free.

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

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

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

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

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

 

THE CLAIM

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

“Treat as Urgent,” a WhatsApp user posted.

The viral WhatsApp post.

FINDINGS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

VERDICT:

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

Viral pictures depicting Anambra communal clash were shot in 2017

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

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

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

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

 

THE CLAIM

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

 

THE FINDINGS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

VERDICT

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

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

Olugbenga ADANIKIN
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0
Claim that 39 Arabians, 16 Russians and 20 Chinese were listed in the FBI most wanted list is FALSE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

THE CLAIM

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

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

“What “-ism” is this?”

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

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

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

 

THE FINDINGS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The same applies to Lativa, Romanian and Iran.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

VERDICT

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

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

Did security agencies foil planned Hezbollah attack on Lagos?

Niyi Oyedeji
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0
Did security agencies foil planned Hezbollah attack on Lagos?

ON June 19, a news report by TVC News Nigeria claimed that security agencies foiled a planned attack by a terrorist group, Hezbollah, on Ikoyi and Lekki areas of Lagos state.

The report, republished by several blogs including Today.ng, gistville.com, thestreetjournal.org, Nairaland.com, with all of them quoting TVCNews, was also shared on Twitter by Osaretin Victor Asemota with username @asemota on June 20.

The post has been shared 293 times and garnered 290 likes with 38 comments as of Tuesday, June 23.

 

The Claim

“A major operation by the Islamist group Hezbollah was foiled in Lagos with the arrest of Ali Mohammed el hassan in Ikoyi overnight.

Screenshot of the TVCNews webpage as shown on Google search

“Details of this operation have not been revealed because of the highly sensitive nature of the plot – TVC News gathered from a source that Hezbollah under the leadership of Mr El Hassan had planned a major attack on Ikoyi and the Lekki areas of Lagos.

“Nigerian security agencies acted on a tip from international intelligence and apprehended the suspect at an undisclosed location in Ikoyi,” TVCNewsNG had reported.

 

The Findings

A fact-check by The ICIR revealed that the news report had been pulled down on the TVCNews verified Instagram account and website which initially published the report.

However, The ICIR was able to retrieve a cached version of the webpage using Google verification tool. (See screenshot below).

But when The ICIR contacted the Lagos State Commissioner for Information, Mr Gbenga Omotoso, he said he’s not aware of such development.

“I am not aware of the news,” he told The ICIR via phone call.

In order to further verify the news, The ICIR contacted the security agencies, namely the Police, State Security Services and the Nigerian military.

“I can’t speak on the news because the news said security agencies and not the police, which I represent,” Police Spokesman for Lagos Command, Bala Elkana, told The ICIR.

Also, the Nigerian Army spokesperson, Sagir Musa, said he is unaware of such report.

“I am unaware of such,” Musa told The ICIR in a brief telephone conversation.

Similarly, when contacted by The ICIR, Peter Afunnaya, the Department of State Services (DSS) spokesperson, said “It’s fake news”.

The Verdict

Based on all available information obtained by The ICIR, it is evident that the report is FALSE.

Did court restrain Obaseki from contesting Edo PDP primaries?

Samad UTHMAN
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Did court restrain Obaseki from contesting Edo PDP primaries?

By UTHMAN Samad.

DADDY D.O, a Twitter user with the username @DOlusegun, on Monday posted a document at exactly 11:51 pm with the claim that a Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has restrained Godwin Obaseki, the incumbent Edo state governor, from participating in the Peoples’ Democratic Party’s gubernatorial primaries in the state.

In the past 11 hours, his post has garnered over 300 retweets and 500 ‘likes’ respectively.

The ICIR investigation also showed that the post has garnered 1,012,832 views as the time of filing this report.

In the last 7 hours, more than 6 popular Nigerian newspapers including Sahara Reporters, Vanguard, TheNation, TheCable, DailyPost, amongst others, have also reported on Tuesday that Obaseki was restrained from contesting the party’s primary election.

The Findings

The ICIR examined the same reported document, with suit number FHC/PH/CS/69/2020, and discovered that the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, only ordered “accelerated hearing” of the suit seeking to stop Governor Obaseki from participating in the Edo PDP’s primary election slated for Thursday.

The suit in question was filed on Monday by Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama, One of the PDP governorship aspirants in Edo State.  Prior to the court order, Ogbeide-Ihama has vowed not to step down for Obaseki after Gideon Ikhine, another aspirant, withdrew from the race.

On the first page of the document, the suit has Uche Secondus, National Chairman of the PDP, as the first defendant. Other defendants are Emmanuel Ogidi, Kingsley Chinda, Debekeme, James Manager, Ajibola Muraina, the PDP, Obaseki and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as second to ninth defendants respectively.

Ogbeide-Ihama, through his lawyers, Donald Denwigwe (SAN) and Chief F. Orbih, SAN, and leader of PDP in Edo State, had prayed the court to stop Obaseki because his defection to the party, a few days to the primary, was unreasonable and aimed at destabilising other aspirants.

The plaintiff also prayed the court to order the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, from recognising Obaseki as a candidate in the party’s primary.

According to TheNigeriaLawyer.com, the judge allowed the Plaintiff to serve the parties through substituted means in two national dailies and adjourned till June 24 for the hearing of the summon.

The judge ordered that the processes be served on Secondus, Ogidi, Chinda, Obaseki, and the PDP.

However, the court presided over by Justice E. A. Obile, after listening to the prayers of Denwigwe and Orbih, refused to grant the order stopping defendants, Obaseki or any member or non-member of the party other than those that have purchased forms and were screened within the time stated in the timetable from contesting for Thursday’s primary.

Lekan Bello, a legal practitioner, told The ICIR that the first paragraph of the order which is conspicuously missing in the pictures posted by the said Daddy D.O raises a serious doubt as to whether an order was granted restraining Governor Obaseki from participating in the party’s primaries.

He further explained that the first page in the pictures shows only the prayer of the plaintiff before the court and not the order of the court.

Also, The ICIR checks revealed that a page is missing in the document which caused sentence-break on the first page and the subsequent ones. The first page ends with “from further recognising and/ or” while the succeeding page starts with “2nd defendant, Emmanuel Ogidi.”

The Verdict

The court has, however, adjourned the case till Wednesday, 24th of June, to hear the motion on notice and did not restrain Obaseki from contesting under the party. The reports are FALSE.

Has Banditry, Kidnapping reduced in Nigeria as claimed by Lai Mohammed?

Olugbenga ADANIKIN
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Has Banditry, Kidnapping reduced in Nigeria as claimed by Lai Mohammed?

LAI Mohammed, Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, on June 14 said the prevalence of insecurity in the country has ‘reduced considerably’ when compared with what was witnessed in 2019, Daily Trust has reported.

He disclosed this in Abuja while rolling out the achievements of the current administration’s second term in office.

Mohammed was specific about banditry and kidnapping.

He said though President Muhammadu Buhari-led government, of which he is a cabinet member, may not have completely wiped out the two insecurity challenges – banditry and kidnapping, he argued that they have significantly dropped in the country, unlike the previous year.

Since the minister made this claim, it has been reported by several media organisations.

The report, which was shared on the Twitter and Facebook pages of the Daily Trust with an aggregate 2.5 million followers, has generated 234 comments, among other reactions.

 

THE CLAIM

“The Federal Government has said its administration may not have completely wiped out banditry and kidnappings, but in the last one year, cases have reduced considerably,” Daily Trust reported quoting him.

Screenshot of the news report on DailyTrust.com

The publication further quoted Mohammed saying the activities of the bandits and kidnappers have been checkmated.

He admitted though that the federal government needs to do more, “but compared to what it was this time last year, to what it is today, it has reduced drastically.”

 

FINDINGS

The ICIR checks through data obtained from the Nigeria Security Tracker (NST), an initiative of Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), to verify the reported cases of kidnappings in the country within the period.

The NST methodologically collects data of violent incidents reported by both local and international media organisations about Nigeria.

The Minister has made claims in the past that turned out to be false.

However, data obtained from the NST about kidnappings from January 2019 to June 2019 was benchmarked against that of January 2020 to June 2020.

Figures of tracked abduction cases from the CFR website says between January to June 2019, 709 cases of kidnappings and 18 deaths were recorded in the country while 339 abductions and 24 deaths were tracked between January to June 19, 2020.

This shows a drop in the incidents of kidnap cases in the first half of 2020 unlike the figure recorded in the first half of 2019, with a difference of 370 abductions as of June 19, 2020 when the data was downloaded.

Data of kidnap cases from Jan to June 2019 and Jan to June 2020
Infograph: The ICIR

Though, the context of the claim was made within the fixed period of 2019 to 2020, the search was extended to a one-year comparison. Further findings of the kidnap cases from June 2019 to June 2020 was verified in comparison with abductions from June 2018 and June 2019.

It revealed that 1,236 persons were kidnapped between June 2018 and June 2019, while there was a total of 9,443 casualties from all forms of insecurity that bedevilled the country within the same period.

But between June 2019 and June 2020, a total of 1,724 kidnap cases were recorded and 8,802 total deaths claimed by insecurity within the period under study.

The data above showed a difference of 488 more cases of abductions this year when compared with the previous year.

Comparison of kidnap cases and killings between June 2018-June 2019 and June 2019 -June 2020
Infograph: The ICIR

Though the 2019 Global Rights Mass Atrocities Casualties Tracking report identified a total of 3,188 killings due to insecurity in the country between January to December 2019, no similar report has been released for 2020 to benchmark the actual deaths recorded as a result of kidnapping and banditry.

However, from the 3,188 deaths recorded in the independent report last year, 2,707 were civilians.

From the overall figure, 1,075 of the casualties were killed due to banditry, the second-highest figure was 702 which was attributed to the Boko Haram insurgency followed by electoral violence which reportedly claimed 605 lives, among other categories. The report only recorded 117 abductions in 2019.

The report further noted that the highest killings in the country per month occurred in June 2019 with 504 deaths.

“…banditry and extrajudicial killings moved at an incremental pace westward, affecting communities in Niger and Kogi States,” the global right report stated.

However, The ICIR could not get data on the number of banditry cases recorded for 2019 and 2020. As stated earlier, it only confirmed that 1,075 deaths were recorded from banditry in 2019 alone.

 

VERDICT

Based on available data as shown above, cases of kidnapping has dropped considerably, as claimed by Lai Mohammed. So, the claim by the minister is indeed TRUE.

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