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Please note that the FactCheckHub has not obtained any right from the authors or copyright owners of all third-party contents from embedded links and shall incur no liability in this regard.
Please note that the FactCheckHub has not obtained any right from the authors or copyright owners of all third-party contents from embedded links and shall incur no liability in this regard.
A VIRAL video circulating on social media features a commentator questioning why Human rights activist and African Action Congress presidential candidate (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, wants to legalise Marijuana Sativa in Nigeria.
The video, shared on X by user @IdrisZekeriJnr with the caption:
“My Orange beret brothers Part 5: Why do you want to legalise marijuana sativa? Is that our problem??”
The caption questions Sowore’s proposal and implies an endorsement of recreational smoking.
Omoyele Sowore advocates for legalising marijuana for recreational consumption/smoking.
screenshot of the viral video
FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that this claim is MISLEADING.
While Omoyele Sowore, the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), has consistently advocated for legalising cannabis in Nigeria, his proposal focuses on commercial export, industrial development, and medical applications, rather than promoting recreational smoking.
Since 2018, Sowore has publicly stated that if he eventually becomes the president, he’d export marijuana to boost the country’s economy and regulate cannabis cultivation to boost its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) through foreign exchange earnings. He noted that cannabis grown in regions like Ekiti State has huge global market potential for medical research, pharmaceuticals, and manufacturing.
The Cable reported in October 2022 where Sowore explicitly clarified his personal stance and intent that he doesn’t consume cannabis and has never smoked it in his life, that his concern stems from justice, not the intake.
Furthermore, in August 2026, Sowore put out a statement calling on the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to stop destroying cannabis farms, he reiterated that legalisation and regulation should focus on economic opportunities, research, and medical usage.
VERDICT
The claim that Omoyele Sowore advocates for legalising marijuana for recreational smoking is MISLEADING. Findings show that while he supports legalising cannabis, his focus is strictly on industrial, commercial export, and medical uses to generate revenue for Nigeria.
A video showing former minister of power, Adebayo Adelabu, criticising the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and urging Nigerians, particularly residents of Oyo State, Southwest Nigeria, to reject the party has resurfaced on social media.
The video was shared on X by @dangbanamanager on 10 October 2026, with a caption claiming Adelabu had recently admitted that the APC had “wrecked Nigeria”.
“Former Power Minister Adebayo Adelabu Penkele tells Nigerians, especially Oyo State, to reject APC at both state and national levels, admitting that APC has wrecked Nigeria. Even their own people are sounding the alarm!.”
The post had attracted over 427,000 views, 3,400 reposts and 5,700 likes as of 12 October 2026.
CLAIM
Former minister of power Adebayo Adelabu recently urged Nigerians to reject the APC at both state and national levels, saying the party had wrecked Nigeria.
FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the video is an excerpt from an old interview Adelabu granted in 2022, when he was the Accord Party’s governorship candidate in Oyo State, rather than a recent statement.
In a report published on 11 October 2026,Punch reported that Adelabu’s media office confirmed the footage came from the 2022 interview and described the viral interpretation as false and misleading.
According to the report, his media office said his comments reflected the political circumstances at the time and his concerns about the credibility of political parties and candidates. It also disputed the claim that the remarks amounted to a call for Nigerians to reject the APC or oppose President Bola Tinubu.
The interview was conducted when Adelabu was contesting the 2023 Oyo State governorship election under the Accord Party, after leaving the APC amid disagreements over the party’s nomination process. In June 2022,Tribune Online reported that Adelabu had formally left the APC and joined the Accord Party to pursue his governorship ambition. In December 2022,Tribune Online also published an interview with Adelabu, in which he discussed his reasons for leaving the APC and criticised the party’s internal politics in Oyo State.
Adelabu’s media office challenged those sharing the video to publish the full, unedited interview to establish the context of his remarks.Punch reported that the office maintained that his comments about political parties and candidates had been taken out of context.
The viral post does not provide the original interview date or the full conversation, leaving out the political context in which the remarks were made.
VERDICT
The claim that the video shows a recent comment by Adelabu is MISLEADING. The video is from a 2022 interview, not a recent statement. Although Adelabu made the remarks in the context of his political disagreement with the APC at the time, the viral post recirculates the footage without its original context and presents it as a current call to reject the party.
ON 30 August 2026, a post began circulating on X claiming that OPay, one of Nigeria’s major fintech companies, was about to shut down its operations.
The message was presented as an official communication from OPay Digital Services Limited. It claimed that the company would go on an “indefinite break” from September 1 and advised customers to withdraw their money because transactions and account-related services would no longer be available.The notice was posted as an “Official Note from Opay Digital Services Limited” and urged customers to remove their funds.
OPay quicklydenied the claim, telling customers that its operations remained unaffected and urging them to rely on its official communication channels.
It further urged its customers to rely only on communications published through its official pages, adding that users should verify social media posts before sharing them.
However, the false claim had already spread widely across social media and messaging platforms, prompting concern among some customers. Some customers had even moved their money after the notice. OPay later held aLive Town Hall in Lagos to address the reports and reassure customers, merchants and other stakeholders that it remained fully operational.
But Opay is not the only Nigerian company that has suffered due to unverified misinformation. In July 2026, Access Bank also had to respond to a false social media message claiming that the bank was shutting down. The bankdescribed the publication as false and said it had falsely impersonated its official communication channels. Access Holdings alsonotified the Nigerian Exchange that the publication was not authorised by the company and had been referred to regulatory, security and law enforcement authorities.
In 2023, a deluge of misinformation was spread regarding Palmpay, another Nigerian Fintech Company, prompting The FactCheckHub to do a series of fact-checks to debunk them. A series of misleading videos was posted on social media purportedly showing the company’s agents harassing customers. However, checks by The FactCheckHub show that the claims were not true, as most of the videos are either skits or totally unrelated to Palmpay.
Similar misinformation can affect businesses in less direct ways. In 2023, an unidentified woman allegedly contacted Airtel customers in Mumbai, falsely telling them that the prices of their postpaid plans were about to increase and encouraging them to switch to another network.
According to areport by Mid-Day, 419 Airtel customers changed networks after receiving the calls, resulting in an estimated loss of 483,000 Indian rupees to the company. Airtel reported the matter to police, who began investigating the alleged scheme.
The case shows how false information can move beyond damaging a company’s reputation to influencing actual consumer decisions.
In Nigeria, Airtel has also had to distance itself from false information circulated in its name. In 2019, a Facebook page called “Airtel Our World” claimed that Airtel was giving away 500,000 iPhones to customers who commented on its post.
The post was shared thousands of times beforeAFP fact-checked it and found that Airtel was not running such a promotion. Airtel told AFP that the page was not affiliated with the company and urged users to disregard the claim.
In September 2026, Nigerian X user Enoriadmitted using artificial intelligence to create a fake image purporting to show an itel power tank exploding. In an apology posted on social media, she said the image and the claim about the explosion were fabricated using AI.
“Hi, good morning, everybody. I made a post three days ago claiming that itel solar fan exploded and that it was overcharging, which I used AI to create. It didn’t happen, and I’m very, very sorry to the itel team and to the itel customers,” she said.
itel said deliberate attempts to misrepresent the company through fabricated content, manipulated materials or false claims would attract appropriate legal action.
The company added that it would pursue available legal remedies where necessary to protect its brand, customers and reputation.
The cases show that misinformation can affect businesses in different ways, such as triggering customer concern, encouraging customers to leave a service, impersonating a company to attract consumers, or creating false evidence that a product is unsafe.
The immediate response is often the same. Sometimes the company has to stop what it is doing and correct the information, as seen in Opay’s case. But correcting a false claim is not always as simple as deleting the original post.
Once a claim has been copied, screenshotted and forwarded across social media and messaging platforms, the company has to reach people who may never have seen its original response. It may also have to reassure customers, monitor further mentions, involve regulators or law enforcement, and in some cases consider legal action.
Speaking with The FactCheckHub, Ayokunle Olubunmi, the Head of Financial Institutions Ratings at Agusto & Co, said misinformation can be particularly damaging to financial institutions because banking depends heavily on customer trust.
“For the business of banking, you have to pay attention to trust,” he said, explaining that a loss of confidence could trigger what is known as a bank run, where large numbers of depositors attempt to withdraw their funds at the same time.
“If there is what we call a run on the bank, where all the depositors are coming for their funds at the same time, the bank collapses,” Olubunmi said.
He said the impact extends beyond financial institutions, as false claims about businesses and their products can also damage their reputation and affect customer decisions.
Olubunmi advised businesses to maintain an active presence on social media so they can quickly respond to false claims and provide accurate information to customers.
However, he cautioned businesses against treating every negative online post as misinformation, noting that some complaints may reflect genuine experiences with a product or service.
“There’s a thin line that we need to be careful about,” he said, warning that businesses should not use their influence or security agencies to intimidate customers who raise legitimate complaints.
He said businesses should first engage with people making complaints, establish whether the claims are genuine and, where necessary, ask those responsible to remove demonstrably false information.
Olubunmi also urged authorities like the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to intensify public education on the dangers of misinformation, saying individuals need to be better equipped to identify and question information before believing or sharing it.
AVIRAL graphic circulating on social media claims that Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), said his son is gay and advocated for the legalisation of same-sex marriage.
The graphic features an image of Obi alongside a quote that reads:
“My son is gay. This is 21st century. Why can’t we allow gay people marry each other? We have to show them love.”
The claim, was shared on 8 October 2026, in a Facebook group, JAGABAN DISCIPLES, by Babatunde Alabi, with the caption:
“Nigerians will never vote for a president that will legalize Hømøsexual.”
As of 9 October 2026, the post has generated over 80 likes, 200 comments and more than 30 shares, with people believing the claim to be true.
Peter Obi said his son is gay and advocated for same-sex marriage legalisation.
screenshot of the post
FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE.
Keyword searches conducted by The FactCheckHub show that the graphic is fabricated and the attributed quote is entirely fake. No credible media organisation or official public record documents Obi making such a statement in any public interview, campaign event, or media appearance.
Reverse image search and digital forensic analysis of the photo used to illustrate the quote reveal that it was extracted from his past interview with host Chude Jideonwo on the #WithChude show.
The FactCheckHub reviewed the complete interview footage on Apple podcast and verified clips shared across official social media channels, including updates posted on Tiktok, here, here, here and here. The clips were also posted on Instagram and on X.
At no point in the interview did Obi mention the word “gay”. Although he used the words “son” and “marriage”, both references were made while discussing how some people occasionally ask him not to attend their weddings for fear of political targeting. “My son or daughter is getting married, but please don’t come,” he stated during the interview.
Nigeria’s Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act 2013 prohibits same-sex marriages and civil unions. Under Section 5, anyone who enters into such a union faces a penalty of up to 14 years’ imprisonment. The law also prescribes penalties for certain acts of support for or participation in same-sex relationships.
Additionally, The FactCheckHub observed that the Facebook group where the claim was posted, named “JAGABAN DISCIPLES MANDATE GRP,” has a consistent pattern of posting anti-Obi narratives and politically targeted disinformation.
This confirms that at no point during the session did Obi make any statement regarding his son’s sexuality or advocate for same-sex marriage laws.
The FactCheckHub has previously debunked similar narratives that attribute false or misleading statements to political figures.
VERDICT
The claim that Peter Obi stated his son is gay and called for the legalisation of same sex marriage is FALSE. Findings show that the graphic is fabricated and uses a false quote designed to mislead the public.
A Facebook user, Noonooagu has posted a quote attributed to former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan, claiming that he said he would have annulled the 2015 presidential election but chose not to because “history would not be kind” to him.
“BREAKING: I would have annulled the 2015 election and nothing would’ve happened. But history would not be kind to me.
— EX President, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan”
The post features a photograph of Jonathan and has attracted over 300 reposts and more than comments as of 8 October 2026.
CLAIM
Former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan said he would have annulled the 2015 presidential election but refrained from doing so because history would not be kind to him.
FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE.
There is no credible evidence that Jonathan made the statement in the viral post. Searches of reports about his reflections on the 2015 election found no credible source quoting him as saying that he would have “annulled” the election or that “nothing would’ve happened” if he had done so.
However, the viral quote appears to have been derived from comments Jonathan made while reflecting on the conduct of the 2015 election.
In February 2025, Jonathan spoke at the YIAGA Africa Reflection Conference on Democratic Elections in West Africa where he recalled problems with the biometric card readers used during the election.
Reports of his remarks show that Jonathan said the card reader had rejected him, his wife and his mother during the 2015 election. Pulse Nigeria reported that he described the experience while discussing electoral reforms.
A later report published in August 2025 quoted Jonathan as saying:
“In 2015, the INEC card reader rejected many voters in the South, including me and my wife, causing frustration. Meanwhile, in the North, instructions allowed everyone to vote without accreditation. So you really see something not quite right. I could have stopped the election.”
The remark that Jonathan “could have stopped the election” appears to be the basis for the claim circulating on social media. Naija News reported the comments in August 2025.
However, “I could have stopped the election” is different from saying “I would have annulled the 2015 election and nothing would’ve happened.” The latter wording is not supported by the available evidence.
Media reports also documented similar difficulties faced by Jonathan during the 2015 election. On 28 March 2015, Channels Television reported that several INEC card readers failed to accredit Jonathan and his wife at their polling unit in Otuoke, Bayelsa State, southern Nigeria. Jonathan subsequently urged Nigerians to remain patient, expressing confidence that INEC would resolve the issues.
Jonathan also ultimately conceded defeat to Muhammadu Buhari. In 2016, The Guardian reported that Jonathan said he conceded because he believed no Nigerian life was worth his political ambition.
Therefore, while Jonathan has said that he could have stopped the 2015 election because of problems surrounding the card-reader system, the viral post changes that remark into a claim that he would have annulled the election and that “nothing would’ve happened.”
A review of Jonathan’s comments in credible media reports and his social media accounts did not show that he made such remarks after the election.
VERDICT
The claim that former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan said he “would have annulled the 2015 election and nothing would’ve happened” is FALSE. Jonathan did say in a later reflection that he “could have stopped the election” because of problems with INEC’s card readers, but there is no credible evidence that he made the viral statement about annulling the election or that “history would not be kind” to him.
A VIRAL video circulating on social media claims to show a Nigerian police officer who has refused to retire or vacate his office despite being officially retired by the police command.
The post was shared on X by a verified user, @MR__sulaiman2, with the caption:
“In this video: A Nigerian police officer has refused to retire or leave his office, even after the command officially retired him.”
As of 7 October 2026, the post has garnered over 256,000 views, 3500 likes, and more than 800 reposts.
Video shows a Nigerian police officer refusing to leave his office after being retired by the police command.
screenshot of the viral post.
FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is MISLEADING.
The video shared online is old and recirculated without proper context.
A reverse image search of keyframes extracted from the video conducted by The FactCheckHub revealed that the footage has been online since March 2023.
Findings showed that the clip was previously published on Facebook by All Facts News on 18 March 2023.
Furthermore, additional reporting published by The Eagle Online on 19 March 2023, confirmed that the confrontation involved junior officers instructing a retired Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) to vacate the premises following his statutory retirement.
While the video depicts an authentic incident, presenting it as a recent event is misleading as it took place over three years ago.
VERDICT
The claim that the video shows a recent incident of a Nigerian police officer refusing to vacate his office after retirement is MISLEADING. Findings show that the video is old footage from March 2023 being recirculated out of context.
Adeyeye made the statement during an interview with BusinessDay TV published on 5 October 2026, while discussing the misuse of pesticides and the need for farmers to understand instructions on agricultural chemicals.
“We are ignorant in this country. We are very ignorant, we don’t read, we don’t understand,” Adeyeye said.
“From farm to fork, there are many organisations involved. There are many agencies involved. NAFDAC mandate is for processed or semi processed foods.
“We have about 56% illiteracy… if it is a literate country they would read. Sometimes, our people don’t understand.”
CLAIM
Nigeria has an illiteracy rate of about 56 per cent.
FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE.
The General Household Survey-Panel Wave 5, conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics in 2023 and 2024, found that 60.9 per cent of Nigerians aged five years and above were literate. The survey defines literacy as the ability to read and write in English or another language at a level adequate for communication and comprehension.
Based on the NBS figure, about 39.1 per cent of Nigerians in the surveyed population were not literate, considerably lower than the 56 per cent claimed by Adeyeye.
The NBS data also shows that literacy varies considerably across the country. The national literacy rate was 60.9 per cent, it was considerably higher in urban areas, at 78.5 per cent, compared with 54 per cent in rural areas.
The latest figures, therefore, do not support a national illiteracy rate of 56 per cent.
Similarly, the World Bank defines adult literacy as the percentage of people aged 15 and above who can both read and write with understanding a short, simple statement about their everyday life. The indicator is sourced from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
The data shows that 70 per cent of Nigerians aged 15 and above were literate as of 2024. This corresponds to an adult illiteracy rate of about 30 per cent, significantly lower than the 56 per cent figure cited by Adeyeye.
The FactCheckHub could not find a publicly available national literacy dataset that supports the 56 per cent figure given by Adeyeye.
VERDICT
The claim that 56 per cent of Nigerians are illiterate is FALSE. Credible statistics shows that the figure is lower.
A video showing Seyi Tinubu, son of Nigerian president Bola Tinubu, standing inside a hall at an event has resurfaced on social media with a claim that it shows Nigerian rapper Eedris Abdulkareem publicly confronting him over his father’s performance in office and the country’s worsening security situation.
The video was shared by an X user, @NigeriaTheBest with a caption that reads:
“This is Eedris Abdulkarim at a symposium, Boldly addressing Sheyi Tinubu that his Father Bola Tinubu is the worst president Nigeria ever had. What a golden address !!! Men dey o !!!”
The video has generated over 7,000 reposts and more than 28,000 likes as of 6 October 2026.
The video shows Seyi Tinubu standing inside a hall while a voice, identified as that of Eedris Abdulkareem, criticises president Tinubu and addresses Seyi over his previous comments about his father.
CLAIM
A video shows Eedris Abdulkareem publicly confronting Seyi Tinubu and telling him that his father, president Bola Tinubu, is the worst president Nigeria has ever had.
Screenshot of the viral post
FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is MISLEADING.
The video combines footage of Seyi Tinubu at one event with audio from a separate occasion in which Eedris Abdulkareem criticised president Tinubu and addressed comments previously made by Seyi.
The voice heard in the viral video belongs to Eedris Abdulkareem. Abdulkareem made the remarks during a separate event in Edo State in April 2026, where he addressed an audience. Seyi was not at the event.
During his remarks, Abdulkareem criticised Tinubu’s handling of insecurity and referred to Seyi’s earlier description of his father as the best president.
He said:
“Nine months ago, Seyi Tinubu enter national TV say, ‘My papa is the best president.’ Seyi, if your papa is the best president, no be you go tell us. Na we go tell you. Seyi, your papa is the worst president. Seyi, tell your papa country hard. Seyi, tell your papa people dey die.”
The remarks came after Seyi had described his father as “the greatest president in the history of Nigeria” during a political event in Adamawa State in March 2025. Abdulkareem later criticised the statement and released his song Tell Your Papa in response. Premium Times reported the exchange in April 2025.
The original video of Abdulkareem’s remarks therefore does not show Seyi in the audience or indicate that the musician was speaking directly to him.
The audio from Abdulkareem’s separate performance was subsequently superimposed on the footage of Seyi Tinubu, creating the impression that the musician was confronting him in person.
Therefore, while Eedris Abdulkareem did make remarks criticising Tinubu and addressing Seyi, the viral video does not show the two men at the same event or a face-to-face confrontation between them.
VERDICT
The claim that the video shows Eedris Abdulkareem publicly confronting Seyi Tinubu is MISLEADING. Abdulkareem did make the remarks heard in the video, but Seyi Tinubu was not present at the event.
The NAF 931 aircraft that crashed in Ondo State on 5 October had spent almost four years at a specialist aircraft maintenance facility in Germany, where its right engine and other components were removed.
This is according to aviation records reviewed by The ICIR.
The aircraft, an ATR 42-500MP Surveyor with manufacturer serial number 800, arrived at Rheinland Air Service (RAS) in Mönchengladbach, Germany, for maintenance in January 2021. According to Military Aviation Spotting Germany, the aircraft was at the facility on January 25, 2021, while AirHistory later reported that it remained there with several components, including its right engine, removed.
Rheinland Air Service was an established maintenance provider for ATR aircraft. ATR, the manufacturer of the aircraft, selected RAS as a member of its MRO network, with its Mönchengladbach facility specialising in heavy maintenance of ATR 42 and ATR 72 aircraft.
JetPhotos photographed the aircraft at the same facility in June 2023.
NAF 931 at Mönchengladbach – EDLN Germany, Source: Jetphotos
The aircraft was still at Mönchengladbach on 20 September 2024, according to an aviation photograph, meaning it had remained in Germany for more than three years. Military Africa reported that NAF 931 finally returned to Nigeria in late December 2024.
The prolonged maintenance period is now an important part of the aircraft’s history, although it does not by itself establish that NAF 931 had a mechanical defect or that its maintenance contributed to the crash. The precise nature of the work carried out in Germany, the components replaced or overhauled, and the reason for the unusually long stay have not been confirmed by the authorities. The spokesperson of the Nigerian Air Force did not respond to calls or messages to his line on 6 October, when The ICIR sought his reaction to these findings.
NAF 931 was not new to overseas maintenance. In September 2013, the aircraft was recorded arriving at Edinburgh Airport in Scotland for maintenance at the Air Contractors facility. AirHistory identified it as one of the two ATR-42s operated by the Nigerian Air Force in the maritime surveillance role. Additional photographs show the aircraft at Edinburgh in November that year, indicating that it remained there for at least several weeks.
Its international history goes back to its first year in service. According to Planespotters, NAF 931 was delivered to the Nigerian Air Force in March 2010. Its delivery flight took it from Turin-Caselle in Italy to Tamanrasset in Algeria on 30 March 2010.
Just months after entering service, the aircraft was already flying internationally. NAF 931 was photographed at the Farnborough International Airshow in the United Kingdom in July 2010 by AirHistory and Airfighters.
The aircraft was part of a two-aircraft acquisition by the Nigerian Air Force from Italian aerospace manufacturer Alenia Aeronautica. NAF 930 was delivered in December 2009, followed by NAF 931 in March 2010, under a $73 million contract signed in 2007 during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo. The contract included the aircraft, crew training and logistics support.
Both ATR-42s were configured for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations, including maritime patrol, and can perform search-and-rescue and limited transport duties.
The sister aircraft, NAF 930, also underwent major maintenance at the RAS facility in Germany. It was sent there in September 2019 after completing about 5,000 hours of operations, including missions supporting military operations against Boko Haram, and returned to Nigeria in July 2020. NAF 931, however, remained in Germany for substantially longer.
That difference raises questions that are now relevant to the investigation into its recent crash. Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa had said a possible technical or mechanical fault might have caused the aircraft to lose communication with the control tower shortly after taking off from Benin for Lagos.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on 5 October, hours after the crash, Aiyedatiwa said he did not believe bad weather was the likely cause, arguing that the aircraft would probably not have taken off if weather conditions had been poor at the time. He said the aircraft could have developed a fault while in the air, leading to the loss of communication.
The Aviation Minister, Festus Keyamo, also said air traffic controllers were unable to contact the aircraft by radio before information later confirmed it had crashed near the Naval Base in Igbokoda.
He said preliminary information indicated that 25 passengers and seven crew members were on board, while the wreckage had been located and search-and-rescue operations were ongoing.
Earlier, the NAF had confirmed that the aircraft was an ATR-42 and said it was on a routine mission from Benin to Lagos when the accident occurred.
The ICIR reported that the aircraft had five crew members and 20 passengers on board
FOLLOWING Nigeria’s 66th Independence Day anniversary on 1 October 2026, political figures and public officials issued statements assessing the nation’s progress. Among them was the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress,Peter Obi, who raised several points regarding the country’s socio-economic conditions.
Nigeria celebrates its Independence Day annually on 1 October to mark its independence from British colonial rule in 1960.
In this report, The FactCheckHub examines data-driven claims made by Obi using official statistics and other verifiable data sources.
“Today, we stand before the world as a nation with the highest number of people living in poverty and hardship with over 140 million.”
FINDINGS
Assessing the claim requires distinguishing between the number of people living in poverty and the proportion of a country’s population living in poverty, as well as the different methods used to measure poverty.
Available international estimates support the view that Nigeria has one of the largest, absolute populations living in extreme poverty. Data displayed on the World Poverty Clock Dashboard, using an international extreme-poverty threshold, put the number of Nigerians living in extreme poverty at about 73.1 million, representing about 31% of the country’s population. This is higher in absolute terms than the corresponding figures for countries such as Afghanistan, Yemen, Venezuela, South Sudan, Angola and Zimbabwe.
However, a higher absolute number of people in poverty does not necessarily mean Nigeria has the highest poverty rate in the world. Countries with much smaller populations can have a greater proportion of their citizens living in extreme poverty. For example, the World Poverty Clock records substantially higher extreme-poverty rates for countries such as South Sudan, Afghanistan and Yemen than for Nigeria.
National data also show that poverty in Nigeria is widespread. Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in its 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index report, estimated that 63% of Nigerians, or about 133 million people, were multidimensionally poor. The index measures deprivation across areas including education, health, living standards, work and shocks, rather than income alone. The NBS noted that 65% of multidimensionally poor Nigerians, about 86 million people, lived in the North, while nearly 47 million lived in the South.
map of Nigeria showing percentage of Nigerians living in multidimensional poverty by state
Other poverty estimates
More recent analysis by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), published in September 2026, estimates that the share of Nigerians living below the national poverty line increased from 40.1% in 2018–2019 to 56.2% in 2022–2023, equivalent to about 126 million people. The report also estimates that 41.8% of Nigerians lived below the international $3-a-day poverty line in 2022.
Meanwhile, a 2026 Nigeria Economic Outlook report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) projected that about 141 million Nigerians could be living in poverty in 2026. This figure is important because it is close to the number cited by Obi. However, it is a projection, not an official count of Nigerians currently living in poverty. It therefore cannot, on its own, establish that more than 140 million Nigerians are presently poor.
There is no 2026 NBS survey establishing that more than 140 million Nigerians are currently living in poverty. The latest NBS multidimensional poverty estimate remains the 2022 figure of 133 million people, while more recent UNCTAD analysis puts the number below the national poverty line at about 126 million in 2022–2023.
VERDICT
The claim that Nigeria has the highest number of people living in poverty and hardship with over 140 million is MOSTLYTRUE.
CLAIM 2
“Nigeria has over 18 million out-of-school children.”
FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is TRUE.
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) 2024 report, it confirms that Nigeria has 10.2 million children of primary-school age and 8.1 million children and adolescents of secondary school age were out of school, a total of 18.3 million children.
VERDICT
The claim that Nigeria has over 18 million out of school children is TRUE. Official UNICEF figures place the total at 18.3 million children.
CLAIM 3
“Food organisation [are] saying that by the end of this year, 40 million Nigerians will face hunger.”
FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE. Reports found by The FactCheckHub published by global food and humanitarian agencies in 2026 do not state that 40 million Nigerians will face hunger by the end of the year.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the October 2025 Cadre Harmonisé analysis projected that 34.7 million Nigerians would face Crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity between June and August 2026. The estimate was based on an analysis led by the Nigerian government, with support from FAO, the World Food Programme (WFP), UNICEF and other partners. (Note: Acute food insecurity refers to a situation where a person’s inability to consume adequate food puts their life or livelihood in immediate danger).
A subsequent update put the figure slightly higher. The FAO’s Global Information and Early Warning System estimated that about 36.3 million people would face severe acute food insecurity in Nigeria between June and August 2026, including nearly 2.1 million people in Emergency (Cadre Harmonisé Phase 4) and about 10,300 people in Catastrophe (Phase 5) in Borno State.
Similarly, the WFP currently reports that about 35 million Nigerians are facing acute food insecurity, driven by conflict, climate shocks, displacement and disruptions to local food systems. The agency identifies the northeast, particularly Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states, as the epicentre of the crisis, with nearly 5.8 million people facing severe food insecurity in 2026. WFP also says that about 15,000 people in Borno are expected to face catastrophic levels of hunger.
The FAO-WFP Hunger Hotspots report, published in June 2026, similarly projected that about 34.8 million Nigerians would face high levels of acute food insecurity during the June–August 2026 lean season. It classified northeast Nigeria among the areas of highest concern because of the deteriorating food-security situation.
These estimates are significant but do not support the specific figure of 40 million. They also refer specifically to people experiencing acute food insecurity, which is a technical classification and should not be used interchangeably with the broader term hunger.
VERDICT
The claim that 40 million Nigerians will face hunger is FALSE.
CLAIM 4
“We recently lost 37 young people.”
FINDINGS
The ICIR and other media houses reported that 37 suspected miners, comprising minors and other young people, were confirmed dead hours after operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) command locked them up following their arrest at mining sites located at M.I. Wushishi/Lukoto axis of Minna between 15 and 16 September 2026.
Following their death Amnesty International Nigeria demanded an immediate probe into the deaths of the suspected illegal miners.
VERDICT
The claim that Nigeria recently lost 37 young people is TRUE. The incident was widely reported by national and international media houses.
CLAIM 5
“Nigeria life expectancy is 54 years as against a global average of 74.”
FINDINGS
The latest available World Bank data show that life expectancy at birth in Nigeria was 54.63 years in 2024. This is consistent with the claim that life expectancy in Nigeria is about 54 years.
Globally, however, the most recent World Health Organization (WHO) estimates put life expectancy at birth at 73.3 years in 2023, meaning the global average is closer to 73 years than 74 years. WHO’s latest global health estimates, released in October 2026, show that global life expectancy reached 73.3 years in 2023, compared with 73.4 years in 2019.
VERDICT
The claim that Nigeria’s life expectancy is 54 years compared to a global average of 74 is TRUE. Verified 2024 datasets from the World Bank confirm Nigeria’s life expectancy at birth hovers around 54 years.
CLAIM 6
“More than 35 million young Nigerians are unemployed or underemployed.”
FINDINGS
It is also important to distinguish unemployment from underemployment. Under the NBS definition, time-related underemployment refers to people who are employed but work fewer than 40 hours a week and are willing and available to work additional hours. Unemployed refers to people who are not employed, are actively seeking work and are available to start a job.
The latest available Nigeria Labour Force Survey (NLFS) data published by the NBS show that Nigeria’s unemployment rate was 5.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2024, while the rate of time-related underemployment was 10.6 per cent. The combined rate of unemployment and time-related underemployment, known as LU2, was 15.3 per cent.
Among young people aged 15 to 24, the unemployment rate stood at 8.4 per cent in Q1 2024, while 14.4 per cent of young people were classified as not in employment, education or training.
Meanwhile, the NBS cautions against simply comparing its newer labour-force figures with older unemployment statistics because the methodology of the NLFS changed substantially. The revised survey follows international standards and uses a different sampling and data-collection approach from previous labour-force surveys.
For example, an earlier NBS labour-force survey for Q2 2020 reported a youth unemployment rate of 34.9 per cent and an underemployment rate of 28.2 per cent among people aged 15–34. However, those figures were produced under the older methodology and should not be used to calculate a current 2026 population count.
ActionAid estimates 80 million youth are unemployed
There are also other estimates of youth unemployment in Nigeria. For instance, ActionAid Nigeria’s 2025 State of the Nigerian Youth report reportedly estimated that nearly 80 million young people, or 53 per cent of the country’s youth population, were unemployed. However, that figure is not an official NBS unemployment estimate and therefore cannot independently validate Obi’s specific claim of “over 35 million.”
While available evidence confirms that Nigeria faces substantial youth employment challenges, The FactCheckHub could not find reliable official data supporting the specific figure of more than 35 million young Nigerians who are unemployed or underemployed.
VERDICT
The claim that more than 35 million young Nigerians are unemployed or underemployed is UNPROVEN.
CLAIM 7
“Nigeria has one of the worst drug prevalence globally, today we have 14 per cent where the global average is 6 per cent.”
FINDINGS
The claim that Nigeria has a drug-use prevalence of about 14 per cent is supported by the findings of NBS and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
According to the NBS report on drug use in Nigeria, produced from the 2018/19 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an estimated 14.4 per cent of Nigerians aged 15 to 64 had used a psychoactive substance, excluding alcohol and tobacco, in the previous year. This translated to approximately 14.3 million people within that age group.
The survey remains the most comprehensive national estimate of drug use prevalence in Nigeria.
For comparison, the UNODC World Drug report 2026 estimates that about 6 per cent of the global population aged 15 to 64 used drugs in the past year. This places Nigeria’s reported prevalence at more than twice the global estimate.
VERDICT
The claim that Nigeria’s drug prevalence stands at 14 per cent compared to a global average of 6% is TRUE. Although this represents data from the most recent 2018 national survey.
