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Claim: A social media user alleged a photo they shared showing that the Aba power plant had been destroyed in an attack by Fulani extremists.
Verdict: Misleading DUBAWA found that the image, which had existed online before the plant was commissioned, was shot in the United States.
Full Text
The Aba Power Plant, known as the Aba Integrated Power Project, is a thermal power station in Abia State, southeastern Nigeria.
The power plant, officially inaugurated in 2024, is part of efforts to improve electricity generation in the state and meet the energy demands of its vast commercial industry.
The Fulani herdsmen, also known as Fulani nomads, are a pastoralist ethnic group in Nigeria found across the northern region of the country. They are known for their traditional occupation of cattle herding, which has been a significant aspect of their culture and livelihood for centuries.
In recent years, the Fulani herdsmen in Nigeria have drawn unpopular attention because of conflicts with farming communities in the middle belt and southern regions of Nigeria. These conflicts often arise from disputes over land use, grazing rights, resource competition, and ethnic and religious tensions, thus making them go as far as being extremists.
“Aba power plant on fire this morning. The fire was set by some suspected people believed to be Fulani herdsmen along the Odide-Oma road,” reads a post shared on X (formerly Twitter) on March 7, 2024.
The post, which features a photo of a factory engulfed in flames, drew significant traction on X, with 213 comments, 223 likes, and 42,000 views. As of the time of this report, it had been shared 312 times.
The account behind the claim, “Ipob Central Liverpool,” has a history of sharing content that aligns with the vision of the separatist group, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
IPOB is pressing for the independence of Nigeria’s southeast—the same region where the power plant is situated.
The X account credited the Igbo Times as the source of the claim. Igbo Times Magazine operates a blog and Facebook account, regularly spreading falsehoods. It has already been the subject of many Fact-checks.
DUBAWA has observed that the group often uses disinformation campaigns to further its political cause, which prompted a deeper investigation into the claim.
Verification
Using a Google Reverse Image Search, we found that the picture dates back to CNN coverage of a blaze in April 2023 at the Pinova plant in Brunswick, in the US state of Georgia. The photo caption credited Kyle Morgan as the photographer. According to CNN, the plant “delivers speciality rosin and polyterpene resins, “not electricity, and was shut down in June 2023 for decommissioning this year.
Built by Geometric Power Limited, the 188-megawatt plant in Aba is projected to accelerate the region’s industrial development. Extremists have a history of attacking electric infrastructure in different parts of Nigeria. A local newspaper reported that 117 electric power installations were vandalised between 2022 and 2024.
The claim that the Fulani extremists destroyed the Aba power plant is false. On March 26, 2024, Geometric Power Limited marked one month since the Aba plant’s inauguration.
“Over the past month, we have been engaged in technical testing of all three turbines,” the company said in a post on LinkedIn.
There was no mention of any attack on the facility. Aba Power Limited, which distributes the electricity generated at the plant, labelled the claim as “fake news.”
Conclusion
DUBAWA’s investigation reveals that the referenced attack by Fulani herdsmen on the Aba power plant is misleading. The image shared was from an event in a Georgia, United States plant.
The researcher produced this fact-check per the DUBAWA 2024 Kwame KariKari Fellowship, in partnership with Prime Progress, to facilitate the ethos of “truth” in journalism and enhance media literacy in the country.
