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Claim: An image shows a woman recently arrested for buying foodstuffs with fake Naira notes in Osun.
Verdict: Misleading! The image is from a 2022 arrest that took place in Ogun State, not a recent incident in Osun State.
Full Text
As President Bola Tinubu advised, Nigerians have had to endure different layers of hardship in the past months. However, it is well known that economic hardship and increased crime rates are not distant relations.
Just recently, an image of a young woman said to be arrested in Osun State for attempting to buy food items with fake Naira notes began to make the rounds on Facebook. In the picture, the helpless-looking woman was holding some amount of N1,000 notes or what looks like it.
“Woman arrested for using fake naira notes to buy food items in Osun,” they wrote without sharing further information.
This narrative has been widely circulated by various Facebook pages and users as seen here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. Although the authenticity of this claim has not been questioned, many users are calling for her to be pardoned, suggesting that hunger may have driven her to commit the act.
DUBAWA conducted this fact check due to the image’s virality.
Verification
We conducted a reverse image search and traced the image to a crime reported on Feb. 18, 2022. The woman in the picture, identified as Bola Agbedimu, a 30-year-old, was arrested for spending fake N1,000 notes at Kila Market in Odeda Local Government Area of Ogun State.
According to Daily Trust, Daily Post, and Channels TV reports, N24,000 counterfeit currency was found in her bag. During police interrogation, Ms Agbedimu admitted that her method involved mixing fake notes with real ones to purchase goods.
Conclusion
The image is not only old but also taken out of context, as the original incident occurred in Ogun state, not Osun state. Therefore, the claim is misleading.
