|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The second week of October was dominated by false narratives that cut across politics, security, and sports.
Here are the top four claims DUBAWA verified this week.
- Terrorists killed 100 civilians in Sokoto
On Oct. 5, 2026, Hausaland Magazine, a Facebook blog, claimed that armed men attacked a community called “Garin Gobir Gindin” in Sokoto State. The blogger said the attackers killed more than 100 civilians, 10 soldiers and a Mobile Police officer.
DUBAWA investigated the claim and found that no community with that name exists in Sokoto.
The Nigerian Army and Sokoto State Police Command also said no attack of that nature took place in the state.
Read the report here.
- Amupitan received Tinubu at the airport
Following President Bola Tinubu’s return to Nigeria from his Europe trip, an X user shared an image claiming that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairperson, Joash Amupitan, was spotted welcoming Tinubu at the airport.
DUBAWA fact-checked the claim and found that the person in the photo was not Amupitan.
Find out who it was in the fact check report here.
- Facebook user says Kandeh Yumkella moved from SLPP to APC
On the international front, we also verified a Facebook claim that Kandeh Yumkella, a Sierra Leonean politician also known as KKY, has moved to the All People’s Congress Party while maintaining his position as the chairperson of the National Grand Coalition (NGC) party.
While KKY is known for frequently cross-carpeting parties, DUBAWA found no evidence that he recently switched to the APC as claimed.
Read the full fact check here.
- Argentina declared October 6 public holiday for Messi’s final match
Apart from political matters, another issue that went viral this week was a claim about footballer Lionel Messi. The claim was that Argentina’s President declared Oct. 6, 2026, a public holiday so people could stay home and watch Messi’s last national team game.
The twist, however, was that the Argentine government never made such a pronouncement.
Read the full findings here.