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Claim: An online media outlet in Liberia, Today Liberia TV, recently claimed, “President Tinubu pulled Nigeria from U.S. stock, withdrew Nigeria’s embassy from U. S. blocked the sale of oil to the United States, and closed the Abuja State House in Washington D. C.”
Verdict: False! Checks by DUBAWA from Legit, indicate President Tinubu has rather set up an inter-agency committee to receive would-be Nigerian deportees from the US. There is also no article about the shutdown of the Nigerian Embassy in the US on legit or any local or international news platforms.
Full Text
A local media outlet, Today Liberia TV, claimed that Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has removed Nigeria from U.S. stock, withdrew Nigeria’s embassy from the U.S., blocked the sale of oil to the U.S., and closed the Abuja State House in Washington, D.C.
The online news entity claimed on its official Facebook page that these measures allegedly taken by Nigeria’s President are in response to United States President Donald Trump’s decision to deport some Nigerians back home.
As of the time this check was conducted, this post had generated over 300 comments, more than 100 shares, and over 400 emojis.
The researcher also took a screenshot of some of the comments on this post, as seen below.
Due to the potential to disinform and create a possible diplomatic row between the two countries, DUBAWA decided to investigate this claim.
Verification
DUBAWA first contacted Today Liberia TV’s claimant via WhatsApp and its owner, Elijah S. Mose, who told the researchers that he had picked the story from Nigerian online news, Legit.
The researcher then visited Legit’s official website and discovered that Legit’s story was completely different from that of Today Liberia TV.
According to Legit, the Nigerian President said that his government was ready to welcome those Nigerians who are expected to be deported under the caption “Tinubu’s Govt Takes Action As Trump Plans To Deport Nigerians From US.”
The story continues: “The President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led Federal Government has set up an inter-agency committee should there be a mass deportation of Nigerians from the United States of America (USA). The Director of Media and Corporate Affairs of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abdur-Rahman Balogun, said the commission is ready to welcome deported Nigerians from the United States.”
Also checks by DUBAWA show there is no media report on any of the local and international news platforms about Tinubu withdrawing Nigeria’s embassy from the US, nor has there been any report of Nigeria blocking the sale of oil to the US.
Conclusion
Today Liberia TV’s claim is false based on what was found on the Legit’s official website.
