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Claim: A Facebook user claimed that Bola Tinubu, Nigeria’s president, had killed more northerners in three days of the #EndBadGovernance protest than Boko Haram had murdered in the preceding three months.
Verdict: MISLEADING. While security agencies had killed Nigerians within the first three days of the protest, recorded death cases during those days did not surpass ten, compared to the 51 victims of suicide bombing within the timeframe mentioned.
Full Text
A Facebook user, I Sign Against Corruption, shared a video of police officers attacking protesters and claimed that security officers had killed more northerners within the first three days of the #EndBadGovernance protest compared to the death cases attributed to the terrorist group Boko Haram in the last three months. The caption reads, “In only three days of the #EndBadGovernance protest, Tinubu has killed more northerners than Boko Haram has done in the last three months.”
The 38 comments and 154 reshares that the post generated predominantly depicted hostile reactions towards the government. However, only a few people expressed scepticism about the claim.
The differing thoughts prompted DUBAWA to fact-check the claim.
Verification
DUBAWA understood that the three months mentioned in the claim were May, June, and July 2024. Using keyword searches, we tracked reported cases of terrorist attacks within the period. The first such case, for the first time since 2019, was the triple female suicide bombing case in Gwoza town, Borno state, on June 29, which targeted a wedding, a hospital and a funeral. Nigeria’s vice president, Kashim Shettima, revealed that while the injured victims were more than 100, the death toll has increased from 18 to 32 as of July 1, 2024.
A month later, the state recorded another suicide bombing incident in Kawuri village, Konduga local government, on July 31, 2024, which claimed 19 lives and an unspecified number of injured civilians. These made the statistics of high-profile terrorist attack victims reported within the timeframe mentioned in the claim to 51.
The number of deaths during the #EndBadGovernance protest has generated controversy as the records presented by the Nigerian Police, which stands at 7, contradicted Amnesty International, who claimed that more than 13 protesters were shot dead as of Aug. 3, 2024.
DUBAWA attempted to contact the police spokesperson, Muyiwa Adejobi, via calls and messages to confirm the total number of death cases since the protest began. Still, we received no feedback as of Aug. 5, 2024.
Conclusion
Though death cases have been recorded in northern Nigerians since the protest began, it is not greater than the number of demises recorded by terrorist attacks within the last three months. Therefore, the claim is misleading.