Did China warn its citizens against building companies in Lagos?

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Emmanuel Oluwadola

Claim: Multiple Facebook users claim that China has warned its citizens not to invest or build multimillion-dollar companies in Lagos State after demolishing some Trade Fair Complex buildings.

Verdict: False! No credible source records such statements from the Chinese government or Embassy. While there were demolitions in Lagos, the image attached to the claim is of a press conference in Beijing, China, where the authorities set guidelines on criminal punishment for Taiwan independence “separatists”.

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On Sept. 25, 2025, the Lagos State Government demolished some buildings at the Trade Fair Complex in the Ojo Local Government Area of the state.

Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development Oluyinka Olumide, in a statement released by the ministry’s director of Public Affairs, Mukaila Sanusi, said the demolition was necessary to “halt further development of unapproved and unsafe buildings in the Complex.”

While the demolition triggered a protest and widespread criticism, especially from Nigerian political figures, the Lagos government has defended its action as legal and based on the 2003 Supreme Court’s judgement.

Amidst this demolition and property rights concerns in the state, a Facebook page, Joe Vicar…, posted a claim on Oct. 7, 2025, that China has warned its citizens not to invest or build multimillion-dollar companies in Lagos State.

The post further claimed that the Chinese government said it is observing Lagos and how shops and businesses of non-indigenes of the state have been forcefully demolished, claiming the Igbos are mostly affected.

The claim read in part: “Breaking News: China has warned its citizens not to invest or build multimillion-dollar companies in Lagos, stressing that the Lagos State government has a record of demolishing properties and reclaiming land—especially those belonging to non-indigenous Nigerians, mostly the Igbos.” (Sic)

The post featured a merged picture of a supposed conference and the demolished buildings.

As of Oct. 10, 2025, the post has garnered 9,100 reactions, 7,100 comments, and 2,900 shares. 

Aside from the tribal debate, some users questioned the veracity of the claim in the comment section. Others call on China to invest in other states in Nigeria instead.

One of the users, Taiwo Orejobi, commented, “I will advise China to go to Anambra for their marketing or Kano.”

Chio Lisa wrote, “Please come to Eastern Nigeria and build whatever you want to build. Your investments are saved.”

Another user, Femi Ade, questioned, “Interesting. Could you also state the Chinese media, as well as the Chinese government official or department that issued this press release? As well as the date this press release was issued? It’s always good to fact-check important statements like this one here.”

The claim can be found on Facebook here, here, here, and here. On Instagram here, here, and on X.

DUBAWA decided to fact-check the claim to determine its validity and prevent the impact of misinformation on Nigeria-China relations and investment decisions.

Verification

We observed that the post attributed some statements to the Chinese official. The attribution stated, “If the government can treat its own citizens this way. How can foreigners be sure their investments will be safe? What is happening to Nigerians in Lagos could be far worse for outsiders. We see what is happening. If indigenous Nigerians can be dispossessed of their businesses, foreign investors must be doubly cautious.” (Sic)

However, we found no credible record of such statements from the Chinese government or Embassy. A keyword search on Google traced the attribution to social media posts.

DUBAWA checked some notable Chinese news platforms, such as China Global Television Network, Xinhua, China Daily, South China Morning Post, and the Global Times, but did not find any of the said phrases.

We also checked some of China’s official websites here, here, and here. No official public statements establish the claim.

The Chinese Embassy in Nigeria issues statements about developments concerning Chinese nationals, but as of this report, we found no warning about the Lagos investment.

We conducted a reverse image search on the claim’s first keyframe. Our findings reveal that the image is of Chinese authorities in a press conference in Beijing, China, on June 21, 2024,  where the authorities set guidelines on criminal punishment for Taiwan independence “separatists”.

The conference is unrelated to the Chinese government’s warning its citizens against building companies in Lagos. We also found the image’s context on Getty Images.

Meanwhile, the result of the claim’s second keyframe established the actual demolition of buildings at the Trade Fair Complex. This can be found on the Premium Times, The Cable, and The Sun Nigeria, among other credible media organisations in Nigeria.

Who is the claimant? 

First, we investigated the claimant’s Facebook page. The page’s transparency check reveals that a user manages it from the United States, while the page’s name, with an Igbo identity, has been changed twice since its creation on Jan. 25, 2024. This questions the reliability of the page.

Screenshot of the claimant’s Facebook page transparency.

Conclusion

The claim that China has warned its citizens not to invest or build multimillion-dollar companies in Lagos State is false. No credible sources have recorded such statements from the Chinese government or Embassy. 

While the second image is of the demolition that took place in Lagos, the first image attached to the claim is of a press conference in Beijing, China, where the authorities set guidelines on criminal punishment for Taiwan independence “separatists”.