{"id":17710,"date":"2024-03-18T09:10:43","date_gmt":"2024-03-18T08:10:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/?p=17710"},"modified":"2024-03-18T09:14:06","modified_gmt":"2024-03-18T08:14:06","slug":"arrest-of-nigerian-man-in-liberia-manipulated-to-depict-illegal-activity-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/arrest-of-nigerian-man-in-liberia-manipulated-to-depict-illegal-activity-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Arrest of Nigerian man in Liberia, manipulated to depict illegal activity in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Claim: An X account (formerly Twitter) shared<\/a> a post alleging that a Nigerian business person was apprehended in South Africa for dealing in drugs.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Verdict: Misleading. While the claim regarding a man’s arrest for alleged drug dealing is partially accurate, its association with South Africa is inaccurate and unsubstantiated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full Text<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Historically, the relationship between Nigeria and South Africa has been reduced to three major categories: conflict, cooperation, and competition. In relation to conflict, 2015 and 2017 marked years when foreign countries in South Africa were attacked. In that attack, nationals of Zimbabwe and Nigeria bore the brunt of the violence, which later intensified into xenophobic attacks. The incident was attributed to the inciting words of the Zulu king, who asked all foreigners to leave the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cases like drug crimes are also not far-fetched. In November 2022, there were reports <\/a>of the arrest of five Nigerian nationals who possessed cocaine and crystal meth in Pretoria, South Africa. Similarly, a 34-year-old<\/a> man was kept behind bars following suspicions of drug possession at his residence in Wisteria Street, Flora Park, Polokwane, Limpopo, South Africa. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recently, an X user shared <\/a>a 10-minute video on Feb 24, 2024, with a caption that reads: \u201cA Nigerian businessman based in South Africa was arrested for allegedly dealing in hard drugs.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The video attached to the claim showed a man who looked tense but was gallantly responding to the security personnel who kept asking incessant questions about his identity and his work because they suspected him of being a drug dealer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other individuals in the room, also seemingly handcuffed, watched as he loudly protested that he was innocent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The video also contained coloured text above the clip that reads: \u201cA well-known spare part dealer (Nigerian National) that goes by the name \u2018Japan\u2019 from Old Clara Town Bushrod Island was allegedly caught with huge amounts of illicit drugs in his compound in Sayon Town Community earlier today, Feb. 21. 2024 (sic).\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A separate text beneath the clip inquires if viewers think he is innocent. The footage was also credited to \u201cEben TV Live\u201d which was boldly captioned in the middle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the comment, there were contrasting views like that of @Mildred_preen<\/a>, who said: \u201cThe man knows his right…. South Africans are doing too much to Nigerians.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another user named @Prince flexy<\/a> said: \u201cWished things can just be better at home. South Africans are full of hate. Dem for dey suffer under white men if not for the struggle of other African countries with the help of Mandela. Evil mentality folks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

@Kodie<\/a> also added, \u201cThey should leave this man jare. No evidence whatsoever!!! A big man like you should have a lawyer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of March 11, 2024, the post had 210,000 views, 396 comments, 356 reposts, 726 likes, and 220 bookmarks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We noticed an oddity with the accent of the claimed South African operatives questioning the detained man; based on the suspicion, we decided to ascertain the veracity of the information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Verification<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We subjected the video to the WeVerify tool and broke it into keyframes. Having done a Google Reverse Image Search, we traced the footage to two articles, here<\/a> and here<\/a>, and a video<\/a> related to a case in Liberia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the reports, the Liberian Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA) raided premises in Sayon Town on February 21, 2024, apprehending several suspected drug dealers, including a Nigerian national called George Ikepehekwu Obi, who also goes by the street name \u201c Original Japan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The police noted that the organised activity was to combat drug-related crimes. He discovered that Obi, the man filmed protesting for his innocence, wore the same patterned shirt in the reports and video images.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The police also noted that the old Clara Town is a slum located on Bushord<\/a> Island in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia. Sayon town community,<\/a> on the other hand, is located in the west of Greater Monrovia and Liberia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nonetheless, Eben TV Live is a self-acclaimed news outlet based in Liberia that publishes various topics ranging from entertainment to social media news. We traced the Facebook <\/a>and TikTok <\/a>accounts, which had  318 followers and 17,000 followers, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The video shared on X was originally posted on Eben TV Live\u2019s TikTok<\/a> account, with no mention of South Africa. That, however, was changed when a different user shared it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To confirm that the claim was untrue, we checked to see if there were reports of the arrest in the traditional media or if any of the said towns were also in South Africa. We found that none of the locations was in South Africa. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The footage showcasing an apprehended man said to have been arrested for dealing in drugs in South Africa is misleading. He was arrested in Liberia during an operation by the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency. The activity was mainly confined to Liberia, with no links to South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The researcher produced this fact-check per the DUBAWA 2024 Kwame KariKari Fellowship, in partnership with Prime Progress, to facilitate the ethos of \u201c truth\u201d in journalism and enhance media literacy in the country.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Claim: An X account (formerly Twitter) shared a post alleging that a Nigerian business person was apprehended in South Africa for dealing in drugs. Verdict: Misleading. While the claim regarding a man’s arrest for alleged drug dealing is partially accurate, its association with South Africa is inaccurate and unsubstantiated. Full Text Historically, the relationship between Nigeria and South Africa has been reduced to three major categories: conflict, cooperation, and competition. In relation to conflict, 2015 and 2017 marked years when foreign countries in South Africa were attacked. In that attack, nationals of Zimbabwe and Nigeria bore the brunt of the violence, which later intensified into xenophobic attacks. The incident was attributed to the inciting words of the Zulu king, who asked all foreigners to leave the country. Cases like drug crimes are also not far-fetched. In November 2022, there were reports of the arrest of five Nigerian nationals who possessed cocaine and crystal meth in Pretoria, South Africa. Similarly, a 34-year-old man was kept behind bars following suspicions of drug possession at his residence in Wisteria Street, Flora Park, Polokwane, Limpopo, South Africa.  Recently, an X user shared a 10-minute video on Feb 24, 2024, with a caption that reads: \u201cA Nigerian businessman based in South Africa was arrested for allegedly dealing in hard drugs.\u201d  The video attached to the claim showed a man who looked tense but was gallantly responding to the security personnel who kept asking incessant questions about his identity and his work because they suspected him of being a drug dealer. Other individuals in the room, also seemingly handcuffed, watched as he loudly protested that he was innocent.  The video also contained coloured text above the clip that reads: \u201cA well-known spare part dealer (Nigerian National) that goes by the name \u2018Japan\u2019 from Old Clara Town Bushrod Island was allegedly caught with huge amounts of illicit drugs in his compound in Sayon Town Community earlier today, Feb. 21. 2024 (sic).\u201d A separate text beneath the clip inquires if viewers think he is innocent. The footage was also credited to \u201cEben TV Live\u201d which was boldly captioned in the middle. In the comment, there were contrasting views like that of @Mildred_preen, who said: \u201cThe man knows his right…. South Africans are doing too much to Nigerians.\u201d Another user named @Prince flexy said: \u201cWished things can just be better at home. South Africans are full of hate. Dem for dey suffer under white men if not for the struggle of other African countries with the help of Mandela. Evil mentality folks.\u201d @Kodie also added, \u201cThey should leave this man jare. No evidence whatsoever!!! A big man like you should have a lawyer.\u201d As of March 11, 2024, the post had 210,000 views, 396 comments, 356 reposts, 726 likes, and 220 bookmarks. We noticed an oddity with the accent of the claimed South African operatives questioning the detained man; based on the suspicion, we decided to ascertain the veracity of the information. Verification We subjected the video to the WeVerify tool and broke it into keyframes. Having done a Google Reverse Image Search, we traced the footage to two articles, here and here, and a video related to a case in Liberia. According to the reports, the Liberian Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA) raided premises in Sayon Town on February 21, 2024, apprehending several suspected drug dealers, including a Nigerian national called George Ikepehekwu Obi, who also goes by the street name \u201c Original Japan.\u201d The police noted that the organised activity was to combat drug-related crimes. He discovered that Obi, the man filmed protesting for his innocence, wore the same patterned shirt in the reports and video images. The police also noted that the old Clara Town is a slum located on Bushord Island in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia. Sayon town community, on the other hand, is located in the west of Greater Monrovia and Liberia.  Nonetheless, Eben TV Live is a self-acclaimed news outlet based in Liberia that publishes various topics ranging from entertainment to social media news. We traced the Facebook and TikTok accounts, which had  318 followers and 17,000 followers, respectively. The video shared on X was originally posted on Eben TV Live\u2019s TikTok account, with no mention of South Africa. That, however, was changed when a different user shared it.  To confirm that the claim was untrue, we checked to see if there were reports of the arrest in the traditional media or if any of the said towns were also in South Africa. We found that none of the locations was in South Africa.  Conclusion The footage showcasing an apprehended man said to have been arrested for dealing in drugs in South Africa is misleading. He was arrested in Liberia during an operation by the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency. The activity was mainly confined to Liberia, with no links to South Africa. The researcher produced this fact-check per the DUBAWA 2024 Kwame KariKari Fellowship, in partnership with Prime Progress, to facilitate the ethos of \u201c truth\u201d in journalism and enhance media literacy in the country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17711,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"hannibal_claim_source":"","hannibal_source_label":"","hannibal_card_color":"blue","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_bluesky_share_type":"","_mastodon_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[1571,3812,3815,123],"tags":[],"verdict":[],"ppma_author":[4069],"class_list":["post-17710","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fact-check","category-headline","category-homepage","category-mainstream"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8R6dE-4BE","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"authors":[{"term_id":4069,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"rejoice-taddy","display_name":"Rejoice Taddy","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&r=g","author_category":"","user_url":"","last_name":"","first_name":"","job_title":"","description":""}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/handcuff.webp?fit=500%2C375&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17710","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17710"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17710\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17715,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17710\/revisions\/17715"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17711"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17710"},{"taxonomy":"verdict","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/verdict?post=17710"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=17710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}