ELECTIONS
Given the contentious sentiments surrounding the claim and its sensitivity, DUBAWA decided to verify it.
The video in circulation is an old video from early this year. Vanguard Newspaper reported the video in May 2024 when artefacts were returned from Germanythe return of an artefact from Germany in May 2024.
Checks by NFC revealed that the video is not recent and has been online since February 2023. Although NFC couldn’t ascertain the accurate context of the video, it was posted on YouTube by @EdoChannelTV on February 15, 2023.
The Edo State government has challenged the IGP’s announcement. They argued that it is unconstitutional for the IGP to make such a declaration, insisting that the ESSN is a body set up by law passed by the Edo state House of Assembly”.
A Google Reverse Image search conducted on the keyframes obtained from the video shows that the footage has been online since September 15, 2020, during the last gubernatorial election in Edo state. An earlier version of the video originally posted by TVC shows Tinubu addressing residents of Edo State urging them not to vote for Obaseki, the People's Democratic Party (PDP) candidate at the time.