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Claim: “Nwabali’s wife” shows off her husband in viral photographs.
Verdict: Misleading. The images were sourced from the footballer’s Instagram page, doctored, and shared for entertainment.
Full Text
After the “Man of the Match” title bestowed upon Stanley Nwabali, Super Eagles goalkeeper, after the semi-final victory that took Nigeria to the finals in the recently concluded African Cup of Nations (AFCON), female fans took to social media to sing praises of this footballer. As events unfolded, three images of Mr Nwabali posing with an unidentified woman described as his wife circulated across Facebook.
Initially shared by Amanda Chisom Page, a Facebook blog with the caption “Goodnight from first and only wife, Mrs Chisom Okolo-Nwabal.” Many people have since reposted with different captions like “Stanley Nwabali’s wife shows off her husband. Keep off” and “Chisom, wife of Super Eagles goalie marking her territory as she shows off husband.”
With the virality of these images came contrasting arguments among users. While a few expressed doubts over the authenticity of the photographs, many accepted them as genuine. The personality involved and the controversial nature of the claim warranted this verification from DUBAWA.
Verification
At first glance, one would readily accept that the footballer took those pictures with the lady. However, after a careful look, one could not help but notice Mr Nwaballi’s body language, which failed to acknowledge the presence of someone standing right by his side. Moreover, the three pictures lacked the typical synergy expected of a couple. Apart from maintaining a straight face with hands in his pocket, these two individuals, despite being close, had no single physical touch across the images.
We checked Mr Nwabali’s Instagram handle, hoping to find where he had posted a picture of himself and this alleged “first lady.” While at this, we found the original version of these photographs, taken solo. He posted the first image, where he held a backpack and a travel bag, on the 2nd of Jan., 2023. That was over a year ago.
Similarly, he posted the second one on Jan. 1, 2024. With his two hands placed over each other at his front, he wrote, “Happy New Year 2024.” Likewise, Mr Nwabali posted the third image beside a white car on July 1, 2023.
Checking through previous posts, we discovered that Amanda Chisom’s blog had several other photographs of the goalkeeper where he allegedly posed with different women as captured here, here, here, and here. The instances either confessed their admiration or suggestively referred to him as their lover.
Born to a Christian family in Port Harcourt, Nwabili started his football career at Go Round FC as a striker, from where he moved to Enyimba, Lobi Stars, Katsina United, and Chippa, for which he currently plays. No online source from him or other sources has disclosed his marital status.
Conclusion
Our findings showed that the footballer’s old pictures were manipulated and shared for fun. The claim is misleading.
