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Claim: An X user (formerly Twitter) shared an audio along with a caption asserting that the current FCT Minister is threatening to kill electoral officers who refuse to do his bidding.
Verdict: The post is misleading, as it was recycled from Sahara TV and other reports from 2016.
Full Text
Like many political figures, Nyesom Wike, the current Federal Capital Territory minister (FCT) minister, has been associated with various allegations. During his tenure as the Governor of Rivers State, Nigeria, he was criticised for demolishing the homes of various residents, leaving them homeless and struggling to rebuild their lives.
Months after being appointed as the FCT minister, numerous claims emerged regarding alleged demolitions. DUBAWA debunked a claim by social media users suggesting that the minister had ordered the demolition of the Abuja National Mosque and the revocation of lands allocated to several other mosques. A report from The Cable also dismissed claims that the minister planned to demolish 6,000 houses in Abuja.
However, on July 1, 2024, at about 1:43 PM, a post attracted DUBAWA’s attention. Following an audio recording of two people in a seeming phone call, a photo of Nyesom Wike was attached alongside the image of another person.
The description in the X post notes is as follows: “Caption- ‘Exposed!!! Wike’s leaked audio where he threatened to kpai any electoral officers that refused to do his wishes. Remove rigging and thuggery during elections; Wike is finished. I dare him not to use thugs and buy votes if he truly believes he is popular!? Retweet massively pls.’”
The 2-minute 20-second audio is of a conversation between the person alleged to be Wike and two other people where he is agitated and threatens to kill anyone who violates his demands.
DUBAWA observed that the video has massive engagements with 299,000 views, 351 comments, 3,400 reposts, 2,800 likes, and 761 bookmarks. We also noticed a Sahara TV tag attached to the clip.
@Benson_Nsikak1, from the comments, said: “I wonder why no one is talking about this audio clip. All the security agencies are quiet and pretend they didn’t hear Wike make his threats. Nigeria is a failed state.”
@abiri_jones asked: “What are the security agents in this country Nigeria doing about this audio? Will they claim they are not seeing any injustice against humanity during and after the elections? Very unfortunate!”
In response to the first comment, @AcharaGee said: “Audio or video clip evidence doesn’t work on Nigerian politicians. They will claim it’s doctored and nursed.”
@Douglasonyehmah added: “After this evidence, nothing will still happen. No be this Nigeria.”
Another user, @Senior_Enioba, with a different perspective, responded: “This might be AI-generated; it sounds like a deep fake to me. However, as long as it validates our resentment towards the APC government, we’ll readily accept it. Think about it.”
Due to the controversy in the comment section, DUBAWA sought to investigate the claim.
Verification
DUBAWA searched for Sahara TV and found it on YouTube. The description stated that it is SaharaReporters’ broadcast outlet. We then searched for the audio shared by the X user and found a longer version with other conversations, with the segment used for the claim coming last.
This time, the tag on the video was: “Full audio of Governor Nyesom Wike caught on tape arranging bribery of INEC officials.” The audio was made seven years ago. It starts with a chat between two people discussing rounding up and bribing 1500 young people for the 2016 gubernatorial polls. It then shifts to a feedback session with Wike about the youth mobilisation and tactics used to sway electoral officers for a successful vote.
In the recording shared by Sahara Reporters, an alleged electoral officer informs Mr Wike that INEC officials are feeling pressured to comply with the governor’s wishes. “Ikwerre did it. They couldn’t even do anything,” Mr Wike was heard saying.
The governor is also captured, warning of dire consequences if the officials don’t act as instructed or return the money he gave them.
“They better return what was handed to them, or else I’ll kill them,” the governor was heard telling an alleged aide whom he tasked with cautioning the unnamed INEC officials deployed from Plateau.
Despite originating in 2016, this audio clip is being circulated and misused by social media users to discuss current events.
DUBAWA also referred to other reports of the same audio, dated December 2016. However, none of these reports confirmed if the audio was original.
It’s not the first time this has happened. During the 2023 elections, the same audio from a different segment was used to claim that Nyesom Wike bribed INEC officials to rig the presidential election. Checks made at the time proved that the audio was extracted from a similar video shared years before on YouTube.
Conclusion
The audio used to claim recent events of the FCT minister threatening to kill some electoral officers is misleading and recycled.
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.
