On April 13, 2023, Adamu Garba, a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), tweeted an image of the Chair of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, with the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi. He claimed that the APC had helped secure Obi’s release from detention in the UK after travelling with fake documents.
The tweet has amassed over 2.7 million views.
On Wait First, we divide claims into three categories. A valid claim is fresh banana. A false claim is burnt dodo, and a misleading claim is cold zobo. So what’s the status of this claim?
According to a report by Premium Times, Obi was detained in London by UK immigration officials for alleged impersonation. A statement by the Head Obi-Datti Media, Diran Onifade, confirmed that Obi was harassed by London immigration officials and placed in detention. Onifade said this was where Obi spent the Easter holidays.
“The LP presidential candidate arrived at the Heathrow Airport in London from Nigeria on Good Friday, April 7, 2023. He joined the queue for the necessary Airport protocols when immigration officials accosted him. They handed him a detention note and told him to step aside,” Onifade said.
Onifade said the offence means an impersonator could commit weighty crimes that would cause people to point fingers at Obi, causing embarrassment.
In his reaction to a report that the UK government apologised to Obi over the detention, Obi said he did not receive
Verification
To verify Adamu’s claim, our partners, FactCheckElections, came across a report by LEADERSHIP . In the report, the federal government of Nigeria denied news that it intervened in Obi’s detention ordeal.
The spokesperson of NiDCOM, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, said the image attached to the tweet is a “stunt.”
He added that the NiDCOM boss, Dabiri-Erewa, was not in the UK and not in a position to secure the release of any Nigerian suspected to be under UK interrogation
“Our attention has been called to the above social media stunt, which has gone viral. Aunty Abike Dabiri-Erewa is NOT in the UK and not in a position to secure the release of any Nigerian suspected to be under UK interrogation. So, members of the public should disregard the information in its entirety,” Balogun said.
Verdict
Adamu’s claim is false and therefore burnt dodo. Avoid the spread of misinformation, as it has the grave potential to cause public panic and harm.
