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Claim: Instablog on X shares a picture of houses underwater in Ibeju Lekki, Lagos State.
Verdict: False! No reputable media organisation reported the claim. It is also an old picture from the 2022 flood in Anambra.
Full Text
Lagos, Nigeria’s economic hub, is no stranger to flooding. With its low-lying coastal geography and rapid urbanisation, the city faces perennial flooding issues exacerbated by climate change and inadequate drainage systems.
Instablog, a popular blog site on X, shared a picture of the flood’s aftermath in the early hours of July 3, 2024. The picture shows houses almost covered by water with the caption, “Meanwhile, in Ibeju Lekki.”
The picture that has now gone viral can also be found on Facebook here, here, here, here, here and here.
The post garnered 496 comments, 835 reposts and quotes, and 3,800 likes since it was posted on July 3, 2024.
The post’s virality, engagement, and implications made DUBAWA verify this claim.
Verification
We did a keyword search to see if any reputable media organisation had reported any news about the flood in Ibeju Lekki but could not find anything. We then employed TinEye, a Reverse Image Search Engine, to check if the picture was recent. The results on TinEye show that the picture dates back to 2022.
The photo was first posted after the Calabar flood on October 9, 2022. We saw it on Pulse, with the caption, “Anambra community cries for help as scores of persons missing in a boat mishap.” The news report can also be found on Channels television.
Tosin Akinwale, a resident of Ibeju Lekki, also told DUBAWA that no such incident happened in that area.
“Although rain fell, the water on the street was not this much. This is probably exaggerated,” she said.
Conclusion
The picture posted by Instablog to depict a flood in Ibeju Lekki is false. It is an old picture from the flood incident in Anambra State.
