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Claim: An X user shared a picture of a woman led by the police in handcuffs and claimed it was Canada-based Nigerian, Amaka Sonnberger, who has been arrested for threatening harmful intentions on specific Nigerian individuals in Canada
Verdict: Misleading! The picture is not of Ms Sonnberger but of Georgia state congressional representative, Nikema Williams, who was arrested with 15 others while protesting in the state Capitol, in the wake of the 2018 midterm elections.
Full Text
On Aug. 25, 2024, a Nigerian-Canadian woman, Amaka Sonnberger, reportedly posted a video on X, threatening the Nigerian community residing in the North American country.
Following the somewhat bitter outrage from Nigerian nationals, Ms Sonnberger was arrested by the Toronto police on Sunday, Sep. 1, 2024. She was scheduled to appear in court on Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, on the charges of a hate-motivated offence.
In light of this, an X user @Laurestar on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, posted a picture of a middle-aged woman handcuffed and accompanied by law enforcement,
claiming to be Ms Sonnberger.
“You don’t open your mouth anyhow in a society where the police know their job and work without interference,” she wrote.
“Amaka will now explain to the police her devious plans to poison innocent Nigerians. She went too far with her #Obidiocy,” she further wrote.
As of Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, the picture has amassed over 272,000 views, 1,334 likes, 347 reposts, 298 quotes, and 127 bookmarks.
In the comment section, some X users agreed with the claimant, while others disagreed about the picture’s authenticity.
“I love her shoes. But dem go give her another one for prison.” @otunbadelemofa said.
Another user, @arapate wrote, “The law must take its course.”
Meanwhile, @DALLseeinRetina stated, “That is not Amaka(.) You (are) too old for this.”
Similar posts were made on Facebook as seen here, here, and here.
Due to the post’s contentious status, DUBAWA decided to investigate it.
Verification
DUBAWA carried out a Google Reverse Image Search on keyframes from the video. The result linked us to a report published by News Channel 9 on Nov. 13, 2018.
In the report, we came across similar images referenced initially by the claimant.
According to the report, Georgia public safety officials stated that the police arrested several protesters at the State’s Capitol during a demonstration demanding that uncounted ballots from the previous election be tallied. Among those arrested was democratic State Senator Ms Williams, who was taken to the Fulton County jail.
In another report by the Daily Herald, dated Nov. 14, 2018, Ms Williams was arrested by Capitol police during a protest over election ballot counts in the rotunda of the State’s Capitol building on Nov. 13, 2018, in Atlanta.
Moreover, other outlets reported a similar story in 2018, as seen here, here, and here.
Conclusion
DUBAWA’s findings reveal that the picture posted is of Senator Williams, arrested in Atlanta in 2018, not of Ms Sonnberger as the user claimed. Therefore, the claim is misleading.
