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Video showing Saraki being booed after election is FALSE

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Video showing Saraki being booed after election is FALSE

A VIDEO claiming that Bukola Saraki was booed by some people after the February 23 presidential election is not true.

The video, which was shared on the 23rd of February by the Twitter handle @DOlusegun, was captioned”Saraki leaves Ilorin for Abuja after a disgraceful showing at the Polls”. The post had gained an engagement of just two retweets and 295 views by 03:50 pm, February 24.

The video, however, went viral after Sahara Reporters shared the video on its verified Twitter handle, @SaharaReporters.

Sahara Reporters shared the video with caption: “VIDEO: #OTOGE: Residents Of Ilorin Mock Saraki, Call Him Thief After Saturday Elections”.

The post was shared today, February 24 at about 08:24 am and has garnered more than 22,400 views, 540 retweets, and 918 likes at 03:50 pm, February 24.

CrossCheck Nigeria, through its findings, confirmed that the earliest version of the video predates the Saturday election and captioned: “Bukola Saraki driving out of the Ilorin Airport yesterday” (February 21). The video was shared on February 22.

The video actually showed that Saraki was booed but not after the presidential election as claimed by @DOlusegun and Sahara Reporters.

Man caught with PVCs is ex-officio member of PDP in Mpkat Enin LGA of Akwa Ibom state

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Man caught with PVCs is ex-officio member of PDP in Mpkat Enin LGA of Akwa Ibom state

By Crosscheck Nigeria.

A picture of men allegedly caught with PVCs in Akwa Ibom state is making the rounds on social media, with supporters of both the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) pointing accusing fingers at each other over the picture. 

CrossCheck Nigeria has confirmed that one of the men in the photos is Aniete Isoenang, an ex-officio member of the PDP in the Mpkat Enin local government area of Akwa Ibom state.

President Muhammadu Buhari’s aide on New Media, Laurretta Onochie, shared the picture on her Twitter page, saying INEC should investigate who the men are.

She claimed that about 600 of such PVCs were bought with N1million in Delta state.

In one report, it is claimed that the men in the photo are APC thugs while in another, it is alleged that the men belong to the PDP in Mkpat Enin Local Government Area in Akwa Ibom state.

Different versions of the claim have been shared over 700 times on Twitter and Facebook.

CrossCheck Nigeria (CCN) carried out its investigation and here’s what we found:

  1. A reverse Image search by CrossCheck Nigeria shows that the picture has been used by supporters of the two main political parties, the PDP and the APC.
  2. When CrossCheck Nigeria initially called PDP’s spokesperson, Ini Ememobong, in Akwa Ibom State, he denied that the men in the picture belonged to the party in the state.
  3. However, days later, when he was called again by another reporter known to him, Ememobong confirmed that one of the men in the photograph is, indeed, Aniete Isoenang, an ex-officio member of the party in Mpkat Enin local government area of Akwa Ibom state.
  4. He also confirmed that Isoenang was arrested and paraded by the police but alleged that the PVCs were planted on him by the police to hang charges on him. CrossCheck Nigeria can neither confirm nor deny this allegation.

Buhari did not vote for Atiku

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Buhari did not vote for Atiku

By Crosscheck Nigeria.

A Facebook page, Nigeria’s Peoples Parliament posted a digitally altered photo of President Muhammadu Buhari raising his ballot paper which showed he had voted for the People’s Democratic Party, at this year’s presidential election.

CrossCheck Nigeria confirmed that the Facebook group posted an altered photo of President Buhari through the following checks:

  1. CrossCheck Nigeria, through an image reverse search on the photo, confirms picture was dug out from the 2015 presidential election.
  2. The original also shows that President had voted for his party, All Progressives Congress, at the election, and not PDP.
  3. At Daura, Katsina State where President Buhari visited to cast his vote for this year’s election, he was dressed in a dark blue native attire.

The picture was posted on February 23 at 05:20 pm. It has since gained 164 likes, 178 comments and 103 shares bringing it to a total of 445 interactions.

Video showing Lagos youths chanting “Ole” on Buhari is NOT TRUE

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Video showing Lagos youths chanting “Ole” on Buhari is NOT TRUE

By Crosscheck Nigeria

THE claim in a video showing that President Muhammadu Buhari was booed and greeted with chants of ‘ole’, meaning thief in Yoruba language, by youths in Lagos during the presidential rally is FALSE. The video was doctored to validate the claim.

The claim has been shared across various social media platforms by influencers and users.

CrossCheck Nigeria, a collaboration of newsrooms in Nigeria which includes The ICIR, confirms that the claim is FALSE. Though the visual is real and factual, the audio was doctored and imported into it.

Posted by Paul Ibe, spokesperson to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, PDP presidential candidate, and Reno Omokri at about 04:53 pm and 05:27 pm respectively on their Twitter handles on February 9.

Ibe’s post reads: “This was how youths on Adeniji Adele Road welcomed President Buhari to Lagos: “Ole! Ole!! Ole!!!” For non-Yoruba speaking persons “Ole” means thief in English, “Barawo” in Hausa and “Onye Ohi” in Igbo You may add your own language. #PMBinLagos”

Omokri’s post reads: “WATCH and SHARE: This video is the reason why Bola Tinubu was insulting Obasanjo and @Atiku today at APC’s poorly attended rally. Lagos youths shouted Ole! at President @MBuhari. Lagosians have suffered under Buhari and won’t listen to #TinubuTheAfonja WATCH, COMMEND and SHARE”

An earlier version of the video shared by Jubril A. Gawat, @Mr_JAGs on his Twitter handle revealed that the youths were seen chanting and shouting the popular ‘Sai Baba’ and ‘4plus4’ slogans of the APC in support of the President.

The tweet reads: “Mr President @MBuhari in my area today, Adeniji Adele road, Lagos Island on his way back from the Oba’s Palace .. Boys yapa … No be shere shere .. #PMBinLagos #BuhariIssaGoal”

He posted the video at about 12:28 pm, February 9, which is 4 hours 25 minutes before Ibe shared his own. His post has the traction of 40 thousand views, 956 retweets, and 1,886 likes as of 03:25 pm, February 10.

Paul Ibe’s post has since garnered 36 thousand views, 757 retweets, and 1,881 likes while Omokri’s post has 31 thousand views, 1,208 retweets and 1, 708 likes as of 03:25 pm, February 10.

Investigated CrossCheck Nigeria

Scandalising Buhari: Meme showing Julian Assange posing with UK newspaper is doctored

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Scandalising Buhari: Meme showing Julian Assange posing with UK newspaper is doctored

By Crosscheck Nigeria

AN image of Julian Assange holding UK newspaper The Guardian has been doctored to look like the headline says that President Muhammadu Buhari has “massive plans to islamise Nigeria.” CrossCheck Nigeria has confirmed that the headline is not real: the original photo shows Assange holding up an article about the Afghanistan war logs in 2010.

The image has been shared by various individuals and groups on WhatsApp.

CNN confirmed the photo has been doctored through the following checks:

  1. A google search of “Julian Assange holding up The Guardian” returned a nearly identical looking image of Assange holding the newspaper with the headline “Massive leak of secret files exposes true Afghan war.” The photo was taken by Leon Neal for AFP/Getty Images.
  2. CNN, as well as many other publications, have used the photo, reporting that it was taken on July 26, 2010, a day after Wikileaks released Afghan war logs.
  3. The online version of the original article from The Guardian can be found here, posted on July 25, 2010.

Video of ICC prosecutor asking Nigerians to refrain from violence is old

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Video of ICC prosecutor asking Nigerians to refrain from violence is old

By Crosscheck Nigeria.

A Facebook video showing Fatou Bensouda, a prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), calling on Nigerians to refrain from violence ahead of the election is original and factual, although it is dated. It was released few days before the 2015 Nigerian election.

The video was originally posted on the ICC’s website and YouTube channel, as well as in audio format on March 16, 2015 – twelve days before the 2015 Presidential election (held on March 28, 2015).

Its transcription in English and French was also posted on the ICC website with the title: “Statement by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda, ahead of elections in Nigeria: “I reiterate my call to refrain from violence.”

As of 3:00 pm on February 7, 2019, the 1: 23-minute video had garnered 6,696 views on its YouTube channel with 32 likes and 6 dislikes.

The video was reposted on Facebook by Facebook user Chidi Cali on February 5, 2019, with the following caption: “CTA “BREAKING News!!! 2019: International Criminal Court (ICC) Warned That they Will Prosecute Any Nigerian Govt official, Cabals, Securities, Politicians that Cause a Break Down Of Law & order or loss of lives. (2015 Intervention) – Chidi Cali”

The post has since garnered 13,000 views. Also, it has been shared 804 times and garnered 25 comments with 59 reactions.

Keyamo DID NOT comment on Buhari’s memory loss

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Keyamo DID NOT comment on Buhari’s memory loss

By Crosscheck Nigeria.

A Facebook page alleged that Festus Keyamo, director of Strategic Communications for the Buhari 2019 Presidential Campaign Organisation, said that President Muhammadu Buhari’s “loss of memory was normal”. Keyamo has denied it.

“Of course it is fake news. You know these politicians. Anything that does not lead you to a credible link is fake news,” Keyamo told CrossCheck Nigeria.

Shared by Facebook page, ‘Nigeria Politics Today,’ on February 6, the post reads: “BUHARI’S MEMORY LOSS IS NOT TOO BAD. – Keyamo. President Buhari’s Loss of Memory is Normal, Even Jesus Christ and Prophet Mohammed Lost Their Memories At Some Point” – Festus Keyamo Reacting Buhari’s Falling Memory and Gaffes.”

CrossCheck Nigeria found no evidence that this quote is from Keyamo.

Keyamo also responded to the rumour on his Twitter account. “This is classic FAKE NEWS (no single link to a CREDIBLE source),” he said.

As at 2:50 p.m. on Thursday, February 7, the post had garnered over 1,472 shares and 1,145 comments.

Germany’s Angela Merkel DID NOT endorse Nigeria’s democracy or President Buhari

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Germany’s Angela Merkel DID NOT endorse Nigeria’s democracy or President Buhari

By Crosscheck Nigeria.

POSTS on Twitter and Facebook claim that German Chancellor Angela Merkel said “democracy under Buhari is one of the best in the world.” There is no evidence that Merkel made any public statement of support for Presidential Candidate Muhammadu Buhari.

CrossCheck Nigeria, a collaboration of newsrooms in Nigeria which includes The ICIR, searched the web and social media platforms in both English and German for any evidence of Merkel’s alleged support for Buhari in the upcoming race. There was none.

We also consulted the German Embassy in Nigeria. By email, the embassy stated that “as far as we are aware, she did not make this statement. Kindly consider as fake news.”

Additionally, there is no evidence that Merkel has thrown her support behind any Nigerian candidate.

The last time Merkel visited Nigeria, in August, her discussion centered on trade and migration.

CCN found the first instance of the misleading claim on a Buhari support page on Facebook titled “ISupportBuhari2019,” and subsequently found the claim was first shared a day earlier – February 3rd – by a Twitter account called @trueNija

As at 5:00 p.m. on February 7, posts of the claim on Facebook, also shared on ‘cupsdemocracyinaction’ page, had garnered over 1000 shares. On Twitter, the claim had over 1,500 shares and 2,000 likes.

The USA Centre for Security Studies DID NOT declare Nigeria an SOS state

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The USA Centre for Security Studies DID NOT declare Nigeria an SOS state

By Crosscheck Nigeria.

On January 29, Facebook user Olutoyoso Omotoso posted a video and captioned it as originating from the USA Centre for Security Studies. This is false.

While the video is genuine, the author had angled the caption in a way that presented the video as a US government scorecard of Nigeria’s president, Muhammadu Buhari, who is seeking re-election and finished it off with a CTA. She wrote:

“The USA Centre For Security Studies declares that Nigeria under Buhari is in an SOS ? situation, and recommends immediate intervention before it explodes. Watch and share video pls. Kick out Buhari/Osinbajo.”

As at Wednesday, February 6, 2:13 pm WAT, the video had been viewed 1,300 times and shared by 166 Facebook accounts.

These are our findings:

  1. That there is no USA Centre for Security Studies
  2. That the video first appeared on ‘SecureFreedom’ Youtube page on December 20, 2018, and captioned “Frank Gaffney urges Trump administration to appoint a U.S. Special Envoy to Nigeria/Lake Chad”
  3. That the video was recorded a day earlier at a press conference held in Washington by ‘Save The Persecuted Christians’, coalition to pressure the US Government to intervene in the plight of Christians in Northern Nigeria/Lake Chad by appointing an envoy.
  4. That Frank Gaffney, the man who appears in the video, is the Founder and President of Centre for Security Policy, a US-based not-for-profit. He is also Founder of Save The Persecuted Christians and does not speak for the US government.

CCN then reached out to the Facebook account seeking to clarify the author’s intention in using that caption, her response was: “It was sent to me like that. Pls what’s the right caption so I can edit? Thanks.” We have now provided the author with a link to the original video in hope that the misinformation is corrected.

Lai Mohammed denies comments on Osinbajo’s copter crash

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Lai Mohammed denies comments on Osinbajo’s copter crash

By Crosscheck Nigeria.

A quote attributed to the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed that says “We Saw A PDP Membership Card And Atiku Abubakar’s Bank Cheque In The Pocket Of The Pilot That Crashed Our Osinbajo’s Helicopter” is being circulated online. There are also other similar claims that the PDP used Osinbajo’s helicopter for 16 years without servicing it.

CrossCheck Nigeria, a collaboration of newsrooms in Nigeria which includes The ICIR, confirms that this claim is not only misleading but also dubious. Lai Mohammed has not issued an official statement that is related to the Vice President’s helicopter crash of last Saturday.

Shared by one Facebook page, Nigeria News and a Twitter handle @SweetShantel. The two posts on Nigeria News both garnered a total of 314 comments and 343 shares as at 01:39 pm, February 6. The post on @SweetShantel also has the traction of 1,251 retweets and 1,350 likes same time with the post above.

To check this, CCN spoke with the minister’s spokesman, Segun Adeyemi. He denied it and said it is the figment of somebody’s imagination.

“I can tell you categorically that the minister never said anything like that. It must be the figment of somebody’s imagination,” Segun said.

A search for similar publication of this statement on the platform of credible national dailies could not be found.

The helicopter that conveyed Osinbajo and member of his team, crash landed in Kabba, Kogi state on Saturday, February 2, a tweet by Laolu Akande, his special adviser on media and publicity revealed that.

A Vanguard publication reported that Lai Mohammed was in Ilorin, his state capital on Saturday, to commission the state APC secretariat. The highlight of what he said that day according to the report was that Lai Mohammed boasted that the APC candidate would defeat the Senate President, Bukola Saraki and wouldn’t be able to supervise the governorship election in the state.

The question about “We” in the claim; who could he be referring to? Laolu Akande on Sunday, after a thanksgiving service with Osinbajo, said a full investigation into the causes of the incident would be conducted by aviation authorities.

The investigation report has not been made public and as such, the “we” in the statement cannot be trusted.

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