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Claim: Fulani herders have razed the biggest yam market in Plateau.
Verdict: Although the circulating image was taken in Plateau State, it dates back to a 2021 event unrelated to the recent issue in the state.
Full Text
Though it’s only been days since many Nigerians lost their lives in a series of attacks in Plateau State, the sorrow left behind is not one that fades easily. While the atmosphere in the state is gradually calming, several claims are being shared on social media. Some are true, others false, while the rest are just hearsay.
Just recently, Anyi Best posted an image on “Ipob Community Radio,” a Facebook page, with claims that the Fulani herdsmen have “set fire on the largest yam market in the world, located in Plateau State.”
This quickly spiralled into debates among Facebook users, with some blaming the state governor for his alleged inaction, which they said led to the development. In contrast, others, like Maxwell Ikwuegbu, questioned the police’s neutrality.
“Not even a person was arrested for this high-level evil, among other gross killings in various places by the Fulanis,” he wrote.
“Things dey happen for this country ohh,” Djbuking Okudo, another user, wrote.
On the other hand, however, some people doubted the claim’s authenticity. Justice Galadima, for instance, wrote, “Fake news every day.”
The same image has been shared here, here, here, and here.
Considering the previous killings in Plateau and the conflicting opinions that followed this post, DUBAWA decided to conduct this verification.
Verification
First, it cannot be established whether Plateau State has the largest yam market in the world because there is no data to prove this. Also, Anyi failed to mention a specific location in Plateau State where this happened, hence raising a red flag.
DUBAWA conducted a reverse image search and found the image has been on the Internet since April 2021. As shared on Facebook and reported by Daily Trust, the image originated from a fire outbreak at Namu Central Yam Market, located in Qua’anpan Local Government Area, Plateau State.
While hundreds of farmers and traders lost goods worth millions of Naira, the specific cause of the outbreak was not reported.
Conclusion
Although the circulating image was taken in Plateau State, it dates back to a 2021 event and has no connection to the recent attacks in the state.
