As the online space evolves, the spread of misinformation and disinformation on social media remains a concern. As part of its mission, DUBAWA continues to verify public claims in this space to help counter false narratives and promote accurate information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Below are some of the claims verified in the last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ose Mmuo (@afonjaSlayer) posted a picture<\/a> on X depicting the Ooni of Ife pouring libation on a human head. The image was posted with the caption \u201cOoni of Ife should be arrested for encouraging human rituals and barbarism.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n When DUBAWA checked the image using Tineye, it revealed that it dates back to Jan. 19, 2019. We found that what the image portrayed is not a human head but a figurine associated with Osoosi Day, celebrated as part of the annual Obatala Festival in Ile-Ife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read more here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With major road constructions ongoing across the FCT, an X user, A. Ayofe, shared a video on April 30, 2025, allegedly showing an Abuja road network. This was to showcase Mr Wike\u2019s achievements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The post was captioned, \u201cAbuja road network is mad. If na Burkina Faso, this road they, Obidiot will be crying everywhere (sic).\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, our investigation revealed<\/a> that the road network is in Mississauga, Canada, near Toronto Pearson International Airport, as captions on Piqsels and Wallpaper Flare indicated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A Google keyword search also confirmed the presence of the nearby Airway Centre II office complex, verifying the location. Additionally, an X account, @Nairaexchanger, identified the area based on the recognisable high-rise buildings in the footage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Martins Otse, popularly known as Very Dark Man (VDM), was arrested on May 2, 2025, when he visited a commercial bank branch. According to his lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) held him at the exit doors for over five minutes to enable his arrest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amid this, a social media user, Agozi Commedy, posted a video showing Nigeria\u2019s president, Bola Tinubu, addressing Nigerians in a broadcast. The video\u2019s caption suggested that President Tinubu called for the suspension of the current EFCC chairperson, Olanipekun Olukoyede, due to VDM\u2019s arrest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our fact check revealed<\/a> that the video shared is misleading. The 7-minute clip was actually from a nationwide broadcast on August 24, 2024, addressing the #EndBadGovernance protest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n During this broadcast, Tinubu condemned violence and urged dialogue without mentioning VDM or the EFCC. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Additionally, there is no record of Tinubu suspending the EFCC chair in 2024, though AbdulRasheed Bawa was suspended in June 2023 over misconduct allegations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Following the arrest of self-acclaimed activist, Martins Otse, also known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), Facebook blogs like Jerry Wife TV and Ochuole Updates started sharing a mugshot of VDM posing with an arrest placard. The placard showed his name, the alleged charges against him, and a date. The placard alleged that VDM was arrested for \u201cAlleged case of cyberstalking and ML.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, our findings<\/a> show that the circulating mugshot of VDM was manipulated to drive a false narrative. We subjected the image to Fake Image Detector, a tool for analysing manipulated images. The result indicated that the image was either generated or modified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A Facebook page, Express, shared news from a website, Daily Excessive, which claimed that Mahmood Yakubu, the chairperson of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), apologised to Nigerians for election manipulation. The news alleged that Mr Mahmood altered the election result in favour of Mr Tinubu because his life and those of his loved ones were in danger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n DUBAWA saw that the viral news was false, and the website that shared this was clickbait.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read more here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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