{"id":5410,"date":"2020-08-02T10:39:01","date_gmt":"2020-08-02T09:39:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/?p=5410"},"modified":"2020-08-02T10:39:05","modified_gmt":"2020-08-02T09:39:05","slug":"fact-check-is-apc-luring-abubakar-shekau-with-vice-presidential-ticket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/fact-check-is-apc-luring-abubakar-shekau-with-vice-presidential-ticket\/","title":{"rendered":"FACT-CHECK: Is APC luring Abubakar Shekau with vice presidential ticket?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-background has-very-light-gray-background-color wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>On July 25th, a Twitter account with the handle @AustinNwabufo\u00a0 and profile name Austin Nwabufo, claimed that Nigeria\u2019s ruling party, the All Progressive Congress (APC) is luring Abubakar Shekau with a vice-presidential ticket as a way of ending the insurgency.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"132\" height=\"55\" data-attachment-id=\"3545\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/minister-of-disinformation\/screenshot-2019-10-04-at-17-25-12\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Screenshot-2019-10-04-at-17.25.12.png?fit=132%2C55&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"132,55\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Screenshot-2019-10-04-at-17.25.12\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Screenshot-2019-10-04-at-17.25.12.png?fit=132%2C55&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Screenshot-2019-10-04-at-17.25.12.png?resize=132%2C55\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3545\" title=\"\"><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-background has-very-light-gray-color has-vivid-red-background-color wp-block-paragraph\">A fact check shows that the claim that the APC is luring Abubakar Shekau with Vice Presidential ticket\u00a0is <strong>FALSE.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>THE CLAIM<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify wp-block-paragraph\">On July 25th, a Twitter account with the handle @AustinNwabufo\u00a0 and profile name Austin Nwabufo, claimed that Nigeria\u2019s ruling party, the All Progressive Congress (APC) is luring Abubakar Shekau with a vice-presidential ticket as a way of ending the insurgency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify wp-block-paragraph\">The tweet reads \u201cAPC luring Abubakar SHEKAU with Vice Presidential Ticket as an inducement to end Boko-Haram War, details coming up later in the day, Keep tuned\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify wp-block-paragraph\">The claim is that APC is luring Abubakar Shekau with Vice Presidential ticket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify wp-block-paragraph\">Shekau is known as the leader of Boko Haram, a Nigerian militant group that has plagued the North-East region of the country for over 10 years leading to thousands of deaths and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/nigeria-emergency.html#:~:text=Over%203.4%20million%20people%20have,refugees%20in%20the%20four%20countries.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">millions of Internally Displaced Persons.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify wp-block-paragraph\">The\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AustinNwabufo\/status\/1286898852457598983\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">tweet<\/a>\u00a0made at 6:39 am by Nwabufo whose profile states that he is a lawyer has garnered\u00a0\u00a0575 retweets and 855 as at press time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"320\" height=\"140\" data-attachment-id=\"5411\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/fact-check-is-apc-luring-abubakar-shekau-with-vice-presidential-ticket\/tweet-on-shekau\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Tweet-on-Shekau.jpg?fit=320%2C140&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"320,140\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Tweet-on-Shekau\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Tweet-on-Shekau.jpg?fit=320%2C140&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Tweet-on-Shekau.jpg?resize=320%2C140\" alt=\"The tweet\" class=\"wp-image-5411\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Tweet-on-Shekau.jpg?w=320&amp;ssl=1 320w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Tweet-on-Shekau.jpg?resize=300%2C131&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 320px) 100vw, 320px\" \/><figcaption>The tweet               Source: ICIR<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>THE FINDINGS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify wp-block-paragraph\">Nwabufo did not respond to&nbsp;<strong>The ICIR<\/strong>&nbsp;request for comment. He, however, blocked the Twitter handle of the reporter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify wp-block-paragraph\">Yekini Nabena, the APC Deputy National Publicity Secretary, asked for the claim to be sent to him via WhatsApp which he read and made no comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify wp-block-paragraph\">When contacted by&nbsp;<strong>The ICIR,<\/strong>&nbsp;Mamman Muhammed, a spokesperson for the Chairman of&nbsp; APC&nbsp; National Caretaker Committee, Mai Bala Buni, said: \u201cI am not in for this junk\u201d.&nbsp;He ended the call and did not pick subsequent calls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify wp-block-paragraph\">Murtala Abdullahi, a journalist covering security who spent three years of his career reporting the north-east insurgency told&nbsp;<strong>The ICIR&nbsp;<\/strong>that Boko Haram promotes a version of Islam which makes it \u201charam\u201d (forbidden) for Muslims to take part in any political or social activity associated with the western society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify wp-block-paragraph\">Abdullahi said \u201cShekau does not believe in a democratic system and as a terrorist, he has been declared wanted by the Nigerian government and the US government. So, there\u2019s no how, I mean totally impossible for one to think or fabricate something like this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify wp-block-paragraph\">Timothy Avele, the Director-General of International Center for Non-verbal intelligence studies (ICNIS), stated that \u201cGovernment can negotiate with terrorists but must be from a stronger position. Do you remember the number of times bounty has been placed on Shekau\u2019s head?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify wp-block-paragraph\">He added that \u201cthe claim from the lawyer is weak and can not be true.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify wp-block-paragraph\">Kabir Adamu Ada, the Managing Director of Beacon Consulting, a security and intelligence outfit told&nbsp;<strong>The ICIR<\/strong>&nbsp;that \u201cit will be suicidal if that should happen and I do not think that will happen\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify wp-block-paragraph\">Kabir further explained that&nbsp; Shekau is a globally wanted terrorist. He said, \u201cthe US has 7 million dollars bounty on his head and that is an internationally recognised bounty given the power of the US.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify wp-block-paragraph\">He added that \u201cI can not envisage a situation where the Nigerian government will enter such a negotiation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify wp-block-paragraph\">Adamu stated aside from the US bounty on Shekau, the Nigerian government also has one on him too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSo to translate from a wanted terrorist to a likely VP candidate is laughable and I see it as a product of political skimming aims at discrediting the APC. This one of the fake news that will likely fly around before 2023 election,\u201d Kabir added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify wp-block-paragraph\">A security officer in the Nigerian intelligence service also confirmed that the Boko Haram leader ordered the execution of the humanitarian workers in Borno recently because the government refused to negotiate with the insurgents who were asking for $1 million as ransom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>THE VERDICT<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-justify wp-block-paragraph\">From the information presented above the claim that the APC is luring Abubakar Shekau with Vice Presidential ticket&nbsp;<strong>FALSE.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On July 25th, a Twitter account with the handle @AustinNwabufo\u00a0 and profile name Austin Nwabufo, claimed that Nigeria\u2019s ruling party, the All Progressive Congress (APC) is luring Abubakar Shekau with a vice-presidential ticket as a way of ending the insurgency. A fact check shows that the claim that the APC is luring Abubakar Shekau with Vice Presidential ticket\u00a0is FALSE. THE CLAIM On July 25th, a Twitter account with the handle @AustinNwabufo\u00a0 and profile name Austin Nwabufo, claimed that Nigeria\u2019s ruling party, the All Progressive Congress (APC) is luring Abubakar Shekau with a vice-presidential ticket as a way of ending the insurgency. The tweet reads \u201cAPC luring Abubakar SHEKAU with Vice Presidential Ticket as an inducement to end Boko-Haram War, details coming up later in the day, Keep tuned\u201d The claim is that APC is luring Abubakar Shekau with Vice Presidential ticket. Shekau is known as the leader of Boko Haram, a Nigerian militant group that has plagued the North-East region of the country for over 10 years leading to thousands of deaths and\u00a0millions of Internally Displaced Persons. The\u00a0tweet\u00a0made at 6:39 am by Nwabufo whose profile states that he is a lawyer has garnered\u00a0\u00a0575 retweets and 855 as at press time. THE FINDINGS Nwabufo did not respond to&nbsp;The ICIR&nbsp;request for comment. He, however, blocked the Twitter handle of the reporter. Yekini Nabena, the APC Deputy National Publicity Secretary, asked for the claim to be sent to him via WhatsApp which he read and made no comment. When contacted by&nbsp;The ICIR,&nbsp;Mamman Muhammed, a spokesperson for the Chairman of&nbsp; APC&nbsp; National Caretaker Committee, Mai Bala Buni, said: \u201cI am not in for this junk\u201d.&nbsp;He ended the call and did not pick subsequent calls. Murtala Abdullahi, a journalist covering security who spent three years of his career reporting the north-east insurgency told&nbsp;The ICIR&nbsp;that Boko Haram promotes a version of Islam which makes it \u201charam\u201d (forbidden) for Muslims to take part in any political or social activity associated with the western society. Abdullahi said \u201cShekau does not believe in a democratic system and as a terrorist, he has been declared wanted by the Nigerian government and the US government. So, there\u2019s no how, I mean totally impossible for one to think or fabricate something like this.\u201d Timothy Avele, the Director-General of International Center for Non-verbal intelligence studies (ICNIS), stated that \u201cGovernment can negotiate with terrorists but must be from a stronger position. Do you remember the number of times bounty has been placed on Shekau\u2019s head?\u201d He added that \u201cthe claim from the lawyer is weak and can not be true.\u201d Kabir Adamu Ada, the Managing Director of Beacon Consulting, a security and intelligence outfit told&nbsp;The ICIR&nbsp;that \u201cit will be suicidal if that should happen and I do not think that will happen\u201d. Kabir further explained that&nbsp; Shekau is a globally wanted terrorist. He said, \u201cthe US has 7 million dollars bounty on his head and that is an internationally recognised bounty given the power of the US.\u201d He added that \u201cI can not envisage a situation where the Nigerian government will enter such a negotiation.\u201d Adamu stated aside from the US bounty on Shekau, the Nigerian government also has one on him too. \u201cSo to translate from a wanted terrorist to a likely VP candidate is laughable and I see it as a product of political skimming aims at discrediting the APC. This one of the fake news that will likely fly around before 2023 election,\u201d Kabir added. A security officer in the Nigerian intelligence service also confirmed that the Boko Haram leader ordered the execution of the humanitarian workers in Borno recently because the government refused to negotiate with the insurgents who were asking for $1 million as ransom. THE VERDICT From the information presented above the claim that the APC is luring Abubakar Shekau with Vice Presidential ticket&nbsp;FALSE.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5412,"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":[4,16,119],"tags":[1166,1164,76,347],"verdict":[],"ppma_author":[1163],"class_list":["post-5410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-politics","category-security","tag-2023-election","tag-abubakar-shekau","tag-boko-haram","tag-featured"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8R6dE-1pg","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"authors":[{"term_id":1163,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"samad-uthman","display_name":"Samad Uthman","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b558b8342d72c9e3c0d04667c82b4419c573ddecc3a326d51a297e218138cbbd?s=96&r=g","author_category":"","user_url":"","last_name":"Uthman","first_name":"Samad","job_title":"","description":""}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Abubakar-Shekau.jpg?fit=750%2C427&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5410","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=5410"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5410\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5412"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5410"},{"taxonomy":"verdict","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/verdict?post=5410"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=5410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}