ElectionsLive Updates

LIVE FACT-CHECK: DUBAWA, NFC partners, monitor mis/disinformation in Nigeria’s presidential, legislative elections

The long-awaited presidential, senatorial and House of Representatives election in Nigeria has commenced.

To ensure the dispensation of accurate information during this period, DUBAWA, alongside other partners at the Nigerian Fact-checkers’ Coalition (NCF),  is carrying out live fact-checks to verify misleading information shared on social media, such as Twitter and Facebook.

Below are claims we’ve fact-checked so far:

CLAIM 1

CLAIM: The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, has withdrawn from the race and has asked his supporters to vote for Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

FINDING: The Chief Spokesperson of the Labour Party’s Presidential Campaign Council, Dr Yunusa Tanko, has debunked the viral claim in a press conference. He said Obi is still in the race. Also, a search on the official Twitter handle of the LP presidential candidate showed he is still contesting as he urged his supporters to cast their votes in his favour.

LIVE FACT-CHECK: DUBAWA, NFC partners, monitor mis/disinformation in Nigeria’s presidential, legislative elections

VERDICT: INCORRECT. 

DATE: 25/02/2023

CLAIM 2

CLAIM: Some social media users claim the Boko Haram terrorist group has taken over INEC offices in Kaduna and Kano states.

FINDING: The images attached to the posts are old and are from unrelated incidents in the past. One of them is as old as 2016. The spokesperson of the Kaduna State Police Command, Mohammed Jalige, debunked the report noting that the INEC office has not been and was not under any form of attack. Also, the Kano state police spokesperson, Haruna Abdullahi, said it is a fake report. 

LIVE FACT-CHECK: DUBAWA, NFC partners, monitor mis/disinformation in Nigeria’s presidential, legislative elections

VERDICT: INCORRECT. 

SOURCE: Kano State Police Command, Kaduna State Police Command.

DATE: 25/03/2023

Claim 3

CLAIM: Twitter users claim the Accord party has merged with Labour Party (LP).

FINDING: The National Chairman of the Accord Party, Reverend Issac Adeniyi, confirmed to the NFC that the party has merged with LP and has declared its support for the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

VERDICT: CORRECT

SOURCE: Accord Party chairman

DATE: 25/02/2023

Claim 4

CLAIM: A viral SMS claims voters can locate polling units by sending their PVC 9-digit codes to 8014.

FINDING: Our findings show this to be false. The Commissioner for Information and Voter Education at INEC, Festus Okoye, has also clarified that the alleged code is not from the Commission. He advised voters to stick to the official contact information released by the INEC.

LIVE FACT-CHECK: DUBAWA, NFC partners, monitor mis/disinformation in Nigeria’s presidential, legislative elections

VERDICT: INCORRECT 

SOURCE: Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Claim 5

CLAIM: A voice in a viral audio clip claims that the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, his running mate Ifeanyi Okowa, and  Aminu Tanbuwal of Sokoto State, are plotting to rig the general election.

FINDING: An analysis of the audio note shows that the trio’s voices were cut from their previously recorded speeches and joined to create the recording of the viral conversation. The audio has been doctored. Hence it is fake.

LIVE FACT-CHECK: DUBAWA, NFC partners, monitor mis/disinformation in Nigeria’s presidential, legislative elections

VERDICT: INCORRECT 

SOURCE: OSINT

Claim 6

CLAIM: A graphic circulating on election morning claims the Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has withdrawn from the presidential race and declared his support for Labour Party’s candidate, Peter Obi. 

FINDING: The claim is not supported by any evidence. Local and international media would have widely reported such a major development, but no credible media has reported such. Abubakar voted in his home state, Adamawa, North-East Nigeria, at about 9 am and told journalists he is confident of winning the election. Paul Ibe, Atiku’s media aide, debunked the claim in a phone call.

LIVE FACT-CHECK: DUBAWA, NFC partners, monitor mis/disinformation in Nigeria’s presidential, legislative elections

VERDICT: INCORRECT

SOURCE: Multiple news sources, Atiku’s media aide

DATE: 25/02/2023

Claim 7

CLAIM: A Twitter user (@Naija_PR) claims the Labour Party (LP) logo is missing on the ballot papers sent to Ondo State. 

FINDING: The pictures of the alleged ballot papers the claimant shared were from 2015. However, a report published by Punch Newspaper confirmed the omission of the LP logo on ballot papers sent to Ondo State to be true but only affected that of the Senate and House of Representatives. 

LIVE FACT-CHECK: DUBAWA, NFC partners, monitor mis/disinformation in Nigeria’s presidential, legislative elections

VERDICT: MOSTLY CORRECT

Claim 8

CLAIM: A Twitter user (@Naija_PR) claims the Labour Party (LP) logo is missing on the ballot papers sent to Ondo State. 

FINDING: The pictures of the alleged ballot papers the claimant shared were from 2015. However, a report published by Punch Newspaper confirmed the omission of the LP logo on ballot papers sent to Ondo State to be true but only affected that of the Senate and House of Representatives. 

LIVE FACT-CHECK: DUBAWA, NFC partners, monitor mis/disinformation in Nigeria’s presidential, legislative elections

VERDICT: MOSTLY CORRECT

Claim 9

CLAIM: Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, the Labour Party governorship candidate in Lagos, said over six million new permanent voter cards were collected in the state.

FINDING:  Voter card collection data published by the Independent National Electoral Commission shows this is incorrect. INEC’s data released on February 23, 2023, shows the total number of previously and newly collected voter cards in Lagos is 6.2 million. If Mr Rhodes-Vivour had referred to both old and new, he would have been correct.

LIVE FACT-CHECK: DUBAWA, NFC partners, monitor mis/disinformation in Nigeria’s presidential, legislative elections

VERDICT: Incorrect

SOURCE: INEC

DATE: 25-02-2023 

Claim 10

CLAIM: A blog site, litepawa.org, published a report on how Ganduje’s supporters attacked the supporters of Kwankwaso in Kano State. 

FINDING: Aside from the blog site lacking all the qualities of a reliable news organisation, such as not featuring an ‘about us’ page or ‘contact us’ on their website, the alleged video that depicts the bloody clash was linked to an advert. Additionally, no report elsewhere hints at the acclaimed bloody conflict in Kano. 

LIVE FACT-CHECK: DUBAWA, NFC partners, monitor mis/disinformation in Nigeria’s presidential, legislative elections

VERDICT: INCORRECT

SOURCE: OSINT 

DATE: 25/02/2023

Claim 11

CLAIM:  A video showing electoral violence in Nigeria’s 2023 elections has gone viral on social media.

FINDING: The video was shot in Ghana during a military drill ahead of the country’s 2020 general election. The latest version of the video the NFC found on social media was dated December 2020. It was also found here. A Ghana-based news outlet, Thedistin, also published the video in November 2020.

LIVE FACT-CHECK: DUBAWA, NFC partners, monitor mis/disinformation in Nigeria’s presidential, legislative elections

VERDICT: INCORRECT

SOURCE: The Distin, Instagram, Twitter

DATE: 25/02/2023

Claim 12

CLAIM: Katsina State Police Command arrested party agents for attempting to hack into the INEC server 

FINDING: The spokesperson of Katsina Police Command, Gambo Isah, when contacted, confirmed the arrest of some party agents. However, he stated that after an in-depth investigation, it was discovered that the political party involved intended to set up a situation room using application software and not hack INEC servers. He also confirmed the same in a press release.

LIVE FACT-CHECK: DUBAWA, NFC partners, monitor mis/disinformation in Nigeria’s presidential, legislative elections

VERDICT: INCORRECT

SOURCE: Katsina State Police Command.

This live-check was jointly researched and written by members of the Nigerian Fact-Checkers’ Coalition (NFC): Nurudeen Akewushola, Faith Abeka, Fatimah Quadri (FactCheckHub); Rosemary Ajayi (Digital Africa Research Lab); Daniel Adaji (The Insight); Elizabeth Ogunbamowo, Lois Ugbede, Cole Praise, Silas Jonathan, Lateef Sanni (Dubawa); Catherine Adeniyi, Motunrayo Joel, Allwell Okpi, Seyi Awojuyigbe, Fatimah Abubakar, Abisola Olasupo (Africa Check); Rejoice Ewodage, Hannah Ajakaiye (FactsMatterNG), Shehu Olayinka and Bamas Victoria (ICIR).It was edited and approved for publication by Kemi Busari, Caroline Anipah, Simbiat Bakare (Dubawa), David Ajikobi (Africa Check), Ajibola Amzat, and Opeyemi Kehinde (FactCheckHub).

Show More

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Back to top button