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Claim: A Facebook user shared a picture of Peter Obi inside a train with the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Verdict: Misleading! Contrary to the claim, the original picture, which was posted via the Lagos State governor, Mr Sanwo-Olu’s official X handle, did not include Mr Obi. Besides, no media outlet reported Mr Obi’s attendance at the public event.
Full Text
On Oct. 15, 2024, the Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, flagged off the Lagos State Red Line rail project. The project’s first phase covers 27 kilometres from Agbado in Ogun State to Oyingbo, Lagos.
In a later development, a Facebook user, Jamiu Ariyo, uploaded a picture showing the incumbent Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Peter Obi, and other public officials on the train and flashing their train tickets.
Along with the picture post, the Facebook user wrote, “Breaking News!!!! Defeated LP Presidential Candidate came to learn good governance in Lagos.”
When DUBAWA examined the post on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, it had garnered about 47 likes and 57 comments. No one had shared the post.
A review of the comment section shows that most users were doubtful of the post’s veracity.
Standope Israel wrote:
“Even with the hunger in the country, using edited pictures for propaganda is your problem,” meaning “Even with the hunger in the country, your problem is to use an edited picture for propaganda.”
Another Facebook user, Shorel Eddy, said, “Photoshop go spoil things ooo.”
“Good governance that is making the whole country hungry today?” Prosper Jasper queried.
The comments suggesting the picture may have been edited prompted DUBAWA to verify its authenticity.
Verification
DUBAWA subjected the picture to Google Lens and discovered it was linked to a public event the Lagos State governor attended. We conducted multiple keyword searches using this information and found a Punch report published on Oct. 15, 2024.
According to the report, Governor Sanwo-Olu led a group to the Lagos Red Line rail opening. The event marked the official kick-off of the state-owned rail line, as the governor embarked on an inaugural trip via rail transport from the Oyingbo train station to Agbado.
Vanguard reported a similar development and added that the project, expected to transport 50,000 residents, aims to enhance mobility across the State. The Nation also reported identical details about the event.
We observed that none of the pictures taken at the event and published by the news outlets earlier referenced had Mr Obi in them.
DUBAWA checked Mr Sanwo-Olu’s official X and Facebook handles for the purported picture showing Mr Obi at the inaugural event but found none. None of the four images posted via the Lagos State governor’s official handles show the former LP presidential candidate.
Also, we checked news reports to confirm if Mr Obi was in attendance, but no news outlet had reported such information.
DUBAWA also noticed some irregularities in the purported picture. While others are looking towards the camera, Mr Obi appears to be looking up. This suggests his image was cropped from another public event and inserted in the picture linked to the Lagos Red Line rail opening.
The former LP presidential candidate is also not holding his train ticket— his hands are not even in action. The ticket only appears to have been placed in his hands, but he is not holding it.
Finally, we checked Mr Obi’s X and Facebook handles from when the post was made until this reporting, but he did not post anything about the claim.
Conclusion
The purported picture showing Mr Obi with the Lagos State governor and other public officials has been digitally altered. None of the original images shared by the Lagos State governor and other credible news outlets reported that Mr Obi was in attendance.
