Did Wike’s security invade Fubara’s private residence, as claimed?

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Phillip Anjorin

Claim: Agodi Comedy, a Facebook user, shared a video claiming that security agencies sent by Nyesom Wike invaded the private home of the embattled Rivers State governor, Siminalayi Fubara.

Verdict: FALSE. Analyses revealed that the video was footage of the scuffle between factions at the People’s Democratic Party’s (PDP) headquarters in January 2025 over access to the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT) meeting.

Full Text

Political instability in Rivers State recently took a turn for the worse when Nigeria’s president, Bola Tinubu, suspended the state governor, Siminalayi Fubara, on March 18, 2025. The presidential announcement claimed the verdict was a necessary federal intervention to the state’s recent internal crises.

In a video shared on March 23, 2025, by a Facebook user, Agodi Comedy, some persons struggled to enter a residence. He claimed that they were security agencies deployed by the FCT’s minister, Nyesom Wike, to invade Mr Fubara’s private residence. 

His caption reads, “The moment security agencies and Nyesom Wike came to embarrass Governor SIM Fubara in his private home.”

Over 130,000 Facebook users viewed the video with the watermark of a credible Nigerian media organisation, TheCable. It also gained 691 reactions, 281 comments, and 618 reshares.

Though most comments negated the claim, some users believed the caption. Austin Odeh said, “Nigeria has no law, [and] no security in the land.” 

Another user, Nkemji Mark, said the claim is retribution against the people of Rivers state, whom she described as ungrateful for rejecting Peterside Dakuku, the governorship candidate of Wike’s predecessor, Chibuike Amaechi.

The claim’s potential implication for Nigeria’s democracy and Wike’s reputation prompted DUBAWA to conduct a fact check and verify its accuracy. 

Verification

Considering the public’s interest in Rivers State following recent events, we ran a keyword search to find news reports. However, we found none.

DUBAWA conducted a reverse image search using a keyframe from the footage

to trace the video’s source. We found the exact video on TheCable’s verified Facebook and X page. 

The report revealed that the altercation witnessed in the video was a scuffle between two factions, led by Sunday Ude-Okoye and Samuel Anyanwu. When the video was taken, Mr Ude-Okoye and his supporters were forcefully attempting to access the Board of Trustees (BoT) meeting at the party’s national headquarters in Abuja on January 29, 2025.

This incident, which occurred months before Fubara’s suspension, is unrelated to the political crisis in Rivers State. 

Conclusion

The video was taken at the PDP’s national headquarters in Abuja, not Fubara’s private residence. Also, the people attempting to break into the building were not supporters of  Wike, as claimed, but of Mr Ude-Okoye at the party’s BoT meeting in January 2025. Therefore, the claim is false.