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Misinformation trends during Anambra 2025 governorship election

Nurudeen Akewushola and James Emmanuel
Nurudeen Akewushola and James Emmanuel
Reading Time: 8 min.
Distribution of election materials at INEC office in Nnewi north, Anambra state/ Source : ICIR
Distribution of election materials at INEC office in Nnewi north, Anambra state/ Source : ICIR

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THE 2025 Anambra governorship election, held on November 8, drew nationwide attention as residents of the state went to the polls to elect their next administrator.

Despite high expectations for a transparent electoral process, the campaign period, election day, and the aftermath were characterised by a flurry of unverified claims and viral content designed to confuse voters and undermine the electoral process.

Reports circulated online claiming that a certain candidate had won, violent incidents occurred, that officials were caught with cash, and that voting malpractices were rampant. Many of these stories, however, were found to be false or misleading, fact-checks by the Nigerian Fact-Checkers’ Coalition (NFC) later revealed.

Over the three days, the coalition fact-checked multiple claims but were able to conclude on a total of 28 claims. Out of these, six were verified as correct, 14 as incorrect, seven as misleading, and one as unproven. Here is a recap of some of the claims fact-checked.

Analysis of claims fact-checked

Misinformation about candidates and voting processes

Before voters cast their ballots, several claims sought to mislead the electorate about the voting process and the political landscape. For instance, an X user, @mr_niceguy234, claimed that Governor Chukwuma Soludo had declared November 7 a public holiday specifically for teachers to serve as delegates. NFC investigations revealed that while the state did declare a holiday, it applied to all workers, and no official documentation supported the teacher-specific claim.

READ : Pre-election LIVE-CHECK for Anambra 2025 governorship election

An X user @starvillageboy (archived link) claimed that the People’s Democratic Party(PDP) did not field any candidate in the Anambra gubernatorial election. 

According to the final report from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officially lists PDP candidate Jude Ezewanfor in the Anambra governorship race. He has also appeared in multiple media interviews, sharing his plans for the state if elected.

Similarly, a Facebook post circulated urging voters to use their index finger to mark ballots. The claim contradicted INEC guidance, stating that any finger could be used as long as the mark was clear. 

A social media user alleged that voter turnout had historically never exceeded 22 per cent, yet analysis of past elections showed turnout closer to 46–47 per cent. These pre-election misrepresentations were designed to create doubt about the electoral process and potentially influence voter behaviour.

Misleading images and videos

During and immediately after voting, social media became a hub for misleading visuals and misinformation about candidates. 

For instance, a video showing women being assisted to thumbprint ballots, shared by Nigeria Undivided on TikTok, was originally posted in 2023 and had no connection to the Anambra election. Other claims suggested local government chairpersons were caught with cash or that certain candidates, like the Anambra East chairperson, intimidated voters with armed men. Investigations confirmed that neither police nor observers witnessed any intimidation, and the purported arrests were found to be false.

READ ALSO : LIVE-CHECK: Anambra 2025 governorship election kicks off

Even high-profile claims gained traction. A Facebook user, Michael Chibuzo, alleged that two of Soludo’s mayors were caught with N750 million each. Field checks with the Anambra State Police Command disproved this, confirming no such arrests occurred.

 Similarly, a video circulated by Bube Africà showed bundles of cash purportedly delivered as “election-sensitive materials,” but reverse image searches traced it back to Obi Cubana’s birthday celebration months earlier.

Adding to the wave of misinformation, the ADC coalition circulated images of a “Ghana-Must-Go” bag filled with cash, alleging widespread collusion between APGA and APC. A reverse image check revealed that these photos were from 2019 in Benue State, unrelated to the Anambra elections. 

Misleading photo by shared by ADC to depict vote buying in Anambra

Misinformation about violent incidents 

It is not so uncommon to see false reports of violence during the election. The Anambra is not different. On the day of the election, an X user, @Ojay147, posted a photograph of a man with a head injury, claiming it was from election-related violence. NFC traced the image back to 2018, during a clash among APGA party members in Dunukofia Local Government Area, proving the post misleading.

Old photo falsely linked to violence in the Anambra election

Similarly, a Facebook user, Ogechukwu Akwaeze, claimed that the local government chairperson of Anambra East, Ifeanyi Chinweze, visited Community Development Primary School, Umueri Ward 2, Unit 003, accompanied by armed men to disrupt the election and intimidate voters. 

The CJID observer Grace Nnoruka informed NFC that the LGA chairperson visited some polling units in the area. She also confirmed the presence of police vans in the polling unit but noted there was no form of intimidation. The observer stated that the LG chairperson and the police arrived at different times but departed almost simultaneously. Images from Arise TV confirm the peaceful conduct of the election at the polling unit.

False and premature result claims

In the aftermath of voting, social media became a hub for premature and misleading claims about the election outcome. For instance, on November 9, an X user, @whitenigerian, falsely claimed that APGA had secured 72.5 per cent of the votes, while others prematurely congratulated Governor Charles Soludo as the winner. Another X user asserted that Soludo had won with 361,893 votes, yet the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) confirmed the actual figure as 422,664 votes.

Meanwhile, reports that Ezechukwu Nweke, Action Alliance candidate, was leading the polls were entirely false, as vote collation had not yet been completed at the time of posting.

In addition, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) coalition posted some photos of collation sheets on its X account, claiming the results were fake to discredit the coalition.

A comparison between the photos uploaded by the user and those available on the INEC IReV portal for polling units 005 Amadim V Square I (Achalla III LGA), 010 UGA B.S.S I (Aguata LGA), 039 Obosi Central School III, and 014 Obosi Central School I (both in Idemili North LGA) shows that the results are identical, accurate, and were not manipulated, contrary to the ADC coalition’s claim.

Accurate claims

Not all the viral claims surrounding the Anambra 2025 governorship election were false. Some posts circulating online accurately reflected the unfolding realities of the poll.

For instance, an X user @Tkoy2025 had claimed that there was “massive vote-buying” by the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) during the election. This was verified as correct by the Nigerian Fact-checkers’ Coalition (NFC) after reporters from Premium Times and The ICIR confirmed witnessing incidents of voters being induced with cash across multiple polling units in the state. Early reports from Premium Times also corroborated that such practices were “rampant” in some areas.

READ ALSO : Post-election LIVE-CHECK for Anambra decides 2025

Similarly, another verified claim came from a post highlighting results at a micro-level polling unit in Agulu, Anaocha Local Government Area – the home community of Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi. The claim stated that the APC governorship candidate, Nicholas Ukachukwu, defeated the LP candidate with 73 votes to 57 votes at Polling Unit 019, Umudim Akasi Square, Agulu II Ward. This was confirmed correct through data obtained from the INEC IReV portal, which matched the figures precisely as stated online.

One of the MIL cards.
One of the MIL cards.

In addition, the NFC verified other localised realities of the election, including reports of technical delays linked to the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and verified posts describing the deployment of an AI-powered real-time result dashboard, which processed updates from all 5,720 polling units across Anambra State. These confirmed instances reflected the evolving use of technology in election monitoring and the growing accuracy of certain user-generated election content.

Another verified incident involved Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s directive to remove Arabic inscriptions from certain public materials in Anambra State. Reports circulating on social media claimed that Soludo had ordered the removal of Arabic scripts from some government signage and documents.  A check on the official website of the nation’s apex bank reveals that Soludo was the governor of the CBN in Nigeria at the time the shift was made. 

Likewise, claims of BVAS (Bimodal Voter Accreditation System) malfunctions delaying voting at Polling Unit 001, Fegge Ward 5, were confirmed by Channels TV and Sahara Reporters, showing that certain operational issues affected accreditation and voting. The claim that the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) only got 1,401 votes is also correct.

Media Information Literacy articles 

During the Anambra 2025 governorship election, the Nigerian Fact-Checkers’ Coalition (NFC) produced seven quick media and information literacy (MIL) articles and cards to guide voters, prevent misinformation, and strengthen public understanding of election processes. These were from the pre-election MIL.

The articles which were done in response to misinformation trends advised voters on what to do after casting their ballots, including monitoring the process peacefully, encouraging others to vote, observing the collation of results, and reporting any irregularities. They also provided practical steps for detecting fake election results, including verifying sources, avoiding premature claims, checking the authenticity of EC60E forms, and ignoring anonymous posts.

The NFC further explained how voters can identify old or misleading videos through careful observation, reverse image searches, timeline checks, context evaluation, and keyword searches. Cards also directed citizens to credible platforms such as NEC, reputable media, and fact-checkers for authentic election results.

One of the MIL cards.
One of the MIL cards.

Other articles focused on election-day offences like vote buying, impersonation, incitement, campaigning near polling units, and the legal penalties attached. Voters were reminded to stay alert for misinformation during result collation, rely on multiple credible sources, and verify before sharing.

Additional guides outlined how gubernatorial votes are counted from polling units to RA, LGA, and state collation along with the role of security agencies. The NFC also clarified who is legally allowed access to collation centres, restricting entry to accredited officials, agents, security personnel, and journalists.

This analysis was done from live checks conducted by members of the Nigerian Fact-checkers Coalition(NFC) for the Anambra Gubernatorial Election. 

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Nurudeen Akewushola is a fact-checker with FactCheckHub. He has authored several fact checks which have contributed to the fight against information disorder. You can reach him via nyahaya@icirnigeria.org and @NurudeenAkewus1 via Twitter.

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