A Facebook user alleged that the Vice president, Yemi Osibanjo, was hypocritical in his comment about IPOB and Fulani Herdsmen.
There is no proof that the vice president, Yemi Osibanjo, made the above statements and the office of the vice president has described the claim as fake news.
Full Text
On May 3, a Facebook user claimed that the Vice president, Yemi Osibanjo, was hypocritical in his comments about the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), in relation to the Fulani herdsmen. The user, @Borngreat Biafra further called on the public to repost his claim for all to see the hypocrisy of southerners, especially religious ones like the vice president.
And as at Sunday, May 31, the post had gotten 325 reactions from Facebook users, shared by 3,400 users and commented on by 1,000 users.
IPOB
Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) is a secessionist movement in South-East Nigeria which aims at restoring the defunct Republic of Biafra, albeit, through peaceful means.
Further, the group appears to be an offshoot of a similar group, Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), a group with the same objectives as IPOB, though less radical in activities.
Controversy around IPOB
There have been several controversies around this group, especially with the declaration of the group as a terrorist group by the Nigerian military.
Different reactions trailed this proclamation as some persons/ groups condemned the declaration while others called for the proclamation of Fulani herdsmen as terrorists too.
Verification
Dubawa reached out to the Facebook user who made the claim via DM, but the user has not replied to the message requesting the source of his claim. It is important to note that there are no credible news reports attesting to this claim. All we have so far is the word of a Facebook user with no further authentication from any source including the source of the claim.
In a bid to further ascertain the claim, Dubawa also reached out to the office of the vice president. The Vice President’s media adviser, Laolu Akande, replied Dubawa pointedly that the claim was “fake news”.
Apart from the terse reply from the office of the vice president, a media analysis of the claim revealed no credible news platform had published any story insinuating the Vice President had criticised the IPOB and backed Fulani herdsmen.
Conclusion
Although the claim was attributed to the Vice President, Yemi Osibanjo, the author of the claim is yet to provide proof and there is no report anywhere that the vice president had at any point made that statement either orally or in writing. The claim is therefore FALSE.
