Home Blog Page 1859

Viral photo of cattle eating tomatoes is from India, not Nigeria

Olugbenga ADANIKIN
-
0
Viral photo of cattle eating tomatoes is from India, not Nigeria

ON March 4, 2021, an image posted by a blog showed cattle eating from a heap of tomatoes by the roadside.

The blog noted that these tomatoes were losses incurred by farmers in the northern part of Nigeria.

The blog wrote:

“As the blockade of food items from the north to the south continued some traders from the north have continued to count their loses.”

In  a poorly constructed sentence, the blog noted:

“Here are photo of spoil Tomatoes throw away along the road after been intercepted for days without able to move to the south.”

This image, with implied and explicit captions, was also posted by different persons; here and here.

The Claim

That the image shows cattle eating tomatoes from farmers in the North who could not supply to the southern part of Nigeria.

farmers tomatoes cattle
The claim that cattle eat tomatoes owned by farmers in the north as it appears on a blog.

The Findings

Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE.

CONTEXT: Following an ethnic crisis between the Hausa and Yoruba in Shasha, Oyo State, which also resulted in the loss of lives and properties, some northern traders under the Amalgamated Union of Food Stuff and Cattle Dealers of Nigeria resolved to suspend the transportation of farm produce to southern parts of Nigeria.

Trailers loaded with cattle, onions, tomatoes, and other farm produce were stopped from entering Jebba, a border town between Kwara and Niger states of the country.

In a report, the union said it embarked on the action as a form of protest against the alleged killings of its members residing in other parts of Nigeria.

“There is a task force that we set up to enforce the directive by the union that there would be no transportation of cattle and foodstuffs to the South with effect from Thursday. So, the union set up the task force to prevent sabotage,” Kabiru Salisu, the union’s financial secretary, stated.

The incident generated reactions on the internet with people in support and against the move.

Does the image depict cattle eating tomatoes owned by farmers from northern Nigeria?

A search conducted by The FactCheckHub using the reverse image search traced the image to  2013  where it was published by a Hindi newspaper.

It was traced to Barwani District, in Madhya Pradesh, India.

According to the report, “a campaign to make agriculture a profitable business is going on in Madhya Pradesh, but tomato farming is proving to be the biggest loss-making business to the farmers of Barwani. The situation is that farmers are not even getting the cost price of tomatoes. They eventually threw tomatoes on the streets.”

After then, the image appeared on the internet in July 2017.

Therefore, this cannot be an image of an incident that happened in Nigeria in the year 2021.

The Verdict

The claim that the image shows cattle eating tomatoes from farmers in the North who could not supply to the southern part of Nigeria is FALSE. The image has been online since 2013 and it is from India.

FACTCHECK: Vacancy advert circulating online for Umaru Musa Yar’adua University is FALSE

Niyi OYEDEJI
-
0
FACTCHECK: Vacancy advert circulating online for Umaru Musa Yar’adua University is FALSE

A post circulated on WhatsApp claiming that Umaru Musa Yar’adua University was recruiting to fill various vacant positions.

The post retrieved on February 28, 2021, said management of the institution, on behalf of the governing council, was  requesting applications from suitable candidates for various positions.

The post was also published on deroundtable.com blog.

The post read: “Vacancy at Umaru Musa Yar’adua University. The Management of Umaru Musa Yar’adua University, Katsina on behalf of the Governing Council, is hereby soliciting for applications from suitably qualified candidates to fill the position below…”

The Claim

Umaru Musa Yar’adua University is recruiting to fill various vacant positions.

The post as forwarded to a WhatsApp group.
The post as forwarded to a WhatsApp group.

The Findings

Findings by the FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE.

Read Also: FACT CHECK: Claim that Anambra’s debt profile is over N200bn is FALSE

The FactCheckHub’s check shows that the university has already debunked the vacancies on its official website.

The university stated that the purported academic and non-academic vacancies were false, urging the general public to ignore. The post read:

“This is to inform the general public that the purported Academic & Non-Academic vacancies emanating from the University is untrue. By this all are kindly advised to ignore. The Management does not declare nor approve such adverts. All are therefore kindly advised to ignore. Signed Management.”

Similarly,  Abdulhamid Danjuma, the school spokesperson, debunked the claim.

“It is untrue,” Danjuma said in a telephone conversation with the FactCheckHub.

The Verdict

The claim circulating online that Umaru Musa Yar’adua University is recruiting to fill various vacant positions is FALSE. The university has debunked it.

Poverty escalates in Nigeria as unemployment rate hits record 33%

Lukman ABOLADE
-
0
Poverty escalates in Nigeria as unemployment rate hits record 33%

A REPORT published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed that one in three Nigerians is now without a job.

This is contained in the latest report by the NBS released on Monday titled ‘Labour Force Statistics, Unemployment and Under Employment – Q4 2020’ which states that 33.3 percent of the current population of Nigeria is unemployed.

This shows that poverty is escalating in Africa’s most populous nation with 98 million out of 200 million in multidimensional poverty.  Unemployment has risen by nearly 400 percent since 2015, spiking from 6.75 percent in the third quarter of 2015 to 33.3 percent in the last quarter in 2020.  Multidimensional poverty encapsulates deprivations in many dimensions, including lack of education and job, poor quality of work and threat of violence, according to Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative.

According to the NBS, the 33.3 percent is a 23 percent increase from the 27.1 percent rate recorded in the second quarter  of 2020 (Q2) 2020. 

Underemployment rate declined from 28.6 percent in Q2 2020 to 22. 8 percent in Q4 2020.

Labour statistics for Quarter 4, 2020
Labour statistics for Quarter 4, 2020
Source: NBS

Although Nigeria has a huge population of young people between the age of 15-34 years, the data revealed that the unemployment rate within this age group rose to 42.5 percent in Q4 of 2020, from 34.9 percent in Q2 2020.

Underemployment for young Nigerians declined to 21.0 percent in Q4 of 2020, from 28.2 percent recorded in Q2 of 2020.

The NBS data also disclosed that the number of Nigerians with jobs during Q4 of 2020 was 46.49 million while 30. 57 million were fully employed. About 15. 915 million were under-employed.

The under-employed Nigerians are those who work between 20-29 hours per week while the fully employed work more than 40 hours in a week.

For Q4 2020, the rate of unemployment among rural dwellers increased to 34.5 percent, from 28.2 percent recorded in Q2 2020. Among urban dwellers, the rate of unemployment also increased from 26.4 percent recorded in Q2 2020 to 31.3 percent in Q4 2020.

The federal government has promised to create about 20 million new jobs within the next four years in four sectors of the economy.

Insecurity, unemployment: CAN says jobless youth are easily recruited by terrorists

Okechukwu Enelamah, former industry minister disclosed this at a stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja on May 27, 2019. But the economy has lost more jobs since then.

President Muhammadu Buhari has promised to lift 100 million out of poverty, but this is turning out in the opposite direction.

Germany, France, Thailand, 15 others suspend AstraZeneca vaccine

Damilola OJETUNDE
-
0
Germany, France, Thailand, 15 others suspend AstraZeneca vaccine

No fewer than 18 countries have suspended the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine administration across the world as of Monday, March 15.

The trend has continued in many parts of the world despite the World Health Organisation(WHO) and European regulators expressing confidence in its safety.

The ICIR gathered that there were more blood clot reports among people who  received the vaccine in parts of Europe and Oceania.

The countries that have suspended the vaccine are Italy, Iceland, Bulgaria, Thailand, Congo, Estonia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Romania, and Latvia.

 Austria, South Africa, Norway, Denmark, Ireland, Netherlands, Germany, and France. Germany and France became the world’s largest countries to suspend the use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine following reports of blood clots in people who were vaccinated.

List of countries that have suspended the use of Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine as of March 15. Infographics by Damilola Ojetunde

According to AstraZeneca, there had been 15 instances of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and 22 pulmonary embolism events reported among more than 17 million people vaccinated in the European Union and the UK.

However, AstraZeneca said there was no scientific evidence of any link between its coronavirus vaccine and recent deaths in Europe from blood clots. It further said in a statement that the rate of blood clots in people who had been inoculated with the vaccine was “much lower than would be expected to occur naturally in a general population.”

The death of a recipient of the vaccine was reported in Austria, which was among the first countries to halt the vaccine’s use. In rapid succession, other countries followed suit, pointing to blood clot instances potentially linked to batches of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

The AstraZeneca vaccine is currently being administered to Nigerians after 3.94 million doses, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII), arrived in Nigeria on March 2, 2021. The Nigerian government acquired the vaccine through the COVAX Facility, a partnership between CEPI, Gavi, UNICEF, and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Despite the suspension of the vaccine in some countries due to severe side effects that have led to fatalities, the Nigerian government, on March 12, insisted on going ahead with the administration of the vaccine in the country.

A statement released by the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), on behalf of the federal government, said the doses of the vaccine received by Nigeria were not part of ABV5300, a specific batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine suspected to be linked to the alleged adverse side effects.

The NPHCDA acknowledged the existence of side effects on Nigerians who had been vaccinated. However, it said the effects were mild.

According to an earlier report, Bola Oyefolu, a virology professor at the Lagos State University (LASU),  warned against continuing with the AstraZeneca vaccine in the country.

Oyefolu stressed that AstraZeneca and other developed vaccines for COVID-19 disease would fail because they were produced without adequate information and knowledge about the virus responsible for the condition.

The virologist further told The ICIR that the federal government would not continue to give the vaccine to Nigerians if it loved its citizens.

He said, “If all facts are on the table, and if the government loves the citizens, and you know that several other countries are rescinding the decision to take the vaccine, if the government is sincere and loves the people and also knows that the economy of the country depends on the health of the people, I think the government should rescind that decision to administer the vaccine on Nigerians. They should not allow it.

COVID-19: European countries suspend AstraZeneca vaccine over blood clot death fears

“If you kill all your people or you make your people diseased, I do not know the country we are going to be in.”

Innocent Ujah, president of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), a professor of medicine, suggested that the Nigerian government should get complete information concerning the vaccine’s side effects.

“I do not have full information (about the side effects). I need to study why those countries are stopping the vaccine. We need to know the side effects and have full information on the situation,” the NMA president said in an interview with The ICIR.

At least two million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine have distributed by the NPHCDA across different states in the country.

Court halts Ayade’s allocation of magistrate court’s premises to lawmaker to build personal house

Editorial
-
0
Court halts Ayade’s allocation of magistrate court’s premises to lawmaker to build personal house

THE Ogoja division of the High Court of Cross River State has granted an order restraining any person from entering the premises housing Magistrate Court 2 in Ogoja magisterial division pending the determination of the motion on notice filed by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).

The Ogoja branch of the NBA approached the court to stop the sale of the premises to the leader of the Cross River State House of Assembly Peter Odey (PDP, Ogoja) after it became public knowledge that Governor Benedict Ayade had approved the land for him to build his personal house.

The case has been adjourned until March 18, 2021, for hearing.

Read Also:

How It Began?

Odey, who just completed his private residence at the Cross River State Water Board Limited premises in Calabar, wrote to Ayade for land to be allocated to him in Ogoja Local Government Area to build another private residence.

Ogoja is almost 300 kilometers north of the southern port city of Calabar.

By the virtue of his office as governor, Ayade is empowered by the Land Use Act of 1978 to hold land in trust for the people and issue certificates of occupancy (C of Os). Owing to this, he  approved and directed lands commissioner John Inyang to allocate land to Odey.

However, experts say the power of the governor is limited to the extent that he cannot revoke public property, in this case judiciary property, and allocate same for private interest or to a private individual.

Inyang, who is the brother in-law to the governor’s wife, is said to have showed Odey a plot directly behind the Ogoja Local Government Secretariat, next to the Ministry of Justice annex at the government residential area in Igoli.

The land is where Court 2 of the Ogoja Magisterial division, presided over by senior magistrate Eno Iyamba, is situated.

Magistrate Iyamba sits alongside chief magistrate Ekong Imona on rotational basis in Court 1 after years of neglect led to a decay of Court 2, which was worsened by a windstorm that blew off the roof.

As at press time, it remained unclear whether Ayade and Inyang’s decision to allocate Court 2 to Odey was deliberate. But sources said the magistrates quickly informed the chief judge Akon Ikpeme and the police who arrested workers who appeared on the site last Saturday.

Judiciary sources said the workers were to be arraigned earlier on Monday but were released following pressure from Odey, a claim he denied.

“That is not true. I never went to the police station. As I am talking to you now, I am in Calabar,” Odey said.

However, he did not deny that he directed work to start but claimed he had no knowledge the land allocated was court premises.

“I did not ask that a court be given to me. I only applied to the governor for a piece of land in Ogoja to build a house and the governor approved. The commissioner allocated that space to me. I did not even know it is a court. If there is contention around it, it is the commissioner that should address it. If anyone has any question, it should be directed to the commissioner,” he told CrossRiverWatch late Monday morning.

A foundation dug by workers employed by lawmaker Peter Odey near the dilapidated Court 2 of the Ogoja Magisterial division at GRA, Igoli, Ogoja

But, earlier on Monday morning, the workers had resumed, with the magistrates reporting to the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps, a security outfit charged with the responsibility of protecting sensitive public infrastructure. This led to the arrests of two people and the confiscation of some work materials.

Odey, on his part, said he had directed that work should stop. “I have directed that work should stop on the site until matters are sorted. I do not want a court. I just need a land to build a house. If anyone even came up to me to tell me there is an abandoned court there that needs repair, I would have contributed to fixing it for my people.”

As at press time, work had stopped at the premises.

Efforts to get lands commissioner Inyang to respond to the allegation proved futile as several calls to his mobile phone were neither answered nor returned.

FACTCHECK: Burna Boy, Wizkid not first Nigerians to win Grammy

Niyi OYEDEJI
-
0
FACTCHECK: Burna Boy, Wizkid not first Nigerians to win Grammy

VIRAL posts on Sunday, March 14, 2021, claimed that Nigerian artistes Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu, popularly known as Burna Boy, and Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun, otherwise called Wizkid, were the first Nigerians to bag Grammy Awards.

A Twitter user, Ibe, with the username @meettheRichard, tweeted that Burna Boy was the first Nigerian artiste ever to win Grammy Awards.

His tweet read:  “Burna Boy becomes the first Nigerian Artist ever to win #GRAMMYs for their original work. This is just the beginning of more things to come! E choke!”

As of 12 noon of Monday, March 15, 2021, the tweet had already garnered 1,247 likes and 249 retweets.

A separate blog post, on the same day, also claimed that Wizkid was the first Nigerian to win the Grammy Award. The headline read:

“Breaking !! Wizkid becomes the first Nigerian to win a ‘Grammy Award.”

The Claim

Burna Boy and Wizkid are the first Nigerians to win the Grammy Award.

A tweet claiming Burna Boy is the first Nigerian to win the Grammy.
A tweet claiming Burna Boy is the first Nigerian to win the Grammy.

The Findings

The Grammy Award, otherwise known as Grammy, is an award presented by the Recording Academy to recognise achievements in the global music industry.

The first edition of the award held on May 4, 1959. Its  latest edition – the 63rd  in the series – was held on Sunday, March 14, 2021.

Two Nigerians, Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu and Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun were part of those that won at the 63rd edition.

Burna Boy won ‘Best Global Music Album’ for his album  Twice as Tall, while Wizkid together with Beyoncé and Blue Ivy won ‘Best Music Video’ for the song Brown Skin Girl.

The FactCheckHub findings revealed that although Burna Boy and Wizkid won at the 63rd Grammy, the duo were not the first Nigerians to win a Grammy.

A blog post claiming Wizkid is the first Nigerian to win the Grammy.
A blog post claiming Wizkid is the first Nigerian to win the Grammy.

In 1991,  Sikiru Adepoju and Babatunde Olatunji won a Grammy for their work in the album Planet Drum produced by Mickey Hart, which won the Best World Music Album category.

In 2009, jazz percussionist, Olalekan Babalola, won a Grammy for his work on Ali Farka Toure’s In the Heart of the Moon album.

Babalola also  won a second Grammy in 2006 for his work on Cassandra Wilson’s album titled Loverly 

Also, artistes of Nigerian descent like beatboxer, Kevin Olusola; rapper, Chamillionaire; singer, Seal, have all won the Grammy.

Sade Adu, who is also of Nigerian descent and was born in Nigeria, won her Grammy in 1985 for the Best New Artiste category.

She also won Grammy in other categories in 1993, 2001 and 2010.

The Verdict

The claim that Burna Boy and Wizkid were the first Nigerians to win Grammy is FALSE. Nigerians and artistes of Nigerian descent have at different points in time won the Grammy Award prior to 2021.

Police confirm kidnap of 2 university students in Ogun

Vincent Ufuoma
-
0
Police confirm kidnap of 2 university students in Ogun

THE Ogun State police command has confirmed the kidnap of two female students of Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU) by unknown gunmen.

Abimbola Oyeyemi, police spokesperson, said the victims, identified as Adeyemo Precious and Oyefule Abiola, were of Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management, and Department of Agricultural Economics, respectively

He said they were kidnapped while returning to their halls of residence located at Olowu area in Ayetoro campus of the institution, Yewa North Local Government Area of the state on Sunday evening.

He stated that a manhunt led by the area commander, in conjunction with local hunters, had been launched to rescue the victims unhurt and reunite with their families.

According to Channels Television, the kidnappers had reached out to the families and demanded a sum of N50 million for the release of the students.

A source disclosed that the abductors linked up with the relatives of the victims through their phones.

The source could not, however, confirm whether the kidnappers were herdsmen or not, saying that it was the kidnapped students that spoke with the families and not the abductors.

“The kidnappers have not spoken with the families. It was the students that spoke and echoed the demands.

“We do not know whether they are Yoruba or Fulani because the families have not heard directly from them.”

Yewa North Local Government Area has, in recent times, been a hotbed of insecurity caused by the activities of suspected herdsmen. Many residents of the area have been fled to Niger Republic as a result of growing insecurity.

Ekiti pays N7.4m to victims of police brutality, compensates farmers for airport land

Niyi OYEDEJI
-
0
Ekiti pays N7.4m to victims of police brutality, compensates farmers for airport land

Ekiti State governor Kayode Fayemi has presented a cheque for N7.4 million to victims of police brutality recommended for compensation by the judicial panel of inquiry in the state.

The governor apologised to the victims for any brutality or damage suffered, saying that he hoped the compensation would help them rebuild their lives.

“I hereby apologise to the victims of human rights violations in Ekiti  for the hurt and damage  they had suffered emotionally and psychologically. These monetary compensations would help to alleviate your feelings and what you have suffered. Please accept my very best wishes as you continue the process of rebuilding your lives.”

Read Also:

Fayemi promised that his government would carry out law reforms, policy change and institutional strengthening to fight crime in Ekiti and ensure justice for all.

A petitioner getting compensated

He also stated that his government was working to ensure that offenders were also brought to book while compensation was given to victims of brutality.

“In most cases, we pay attention to the offenders while not trying to remedy the emotional and psychological  damage done to the victims. The House of Assembly has begun work on Ekiti criminal code with the task of ensuring that victims of crime  are put side by side with the offenders and get compensations while the offenders got punishment.”

The chairman of the panel of inquiry Justice Cornelius Akintayo(rtd) applauded Fayemi for approving the compensations to the petitioners, saying it would boost people’s confidence in the government.

Another petitioner getting compensated

“We thank the government for not waiting until we round off before starting paying compensations. This will instill confidence and trust in governance. If we recommend and there was no political will to implement, then nothing has happened,” he said.

Also, about 700 farmers, whose pieces of land were acquired for the construction of the airport project, got over N500 million.

While presenting cheques to farmers and owners of  4,017 hectares of land acquired for the airport, Fayemi said the money  would be distributed to farmers from Afao, Ago Aduloju, Araromi Obo, Ijan, Igbogun, Ogbese and others, to alleviate whatever they had suffered through the process of construction.

“The construction of the airport will in the long run create jobs, drive investments, and our crops will be better marketed locally and international when operational.

“We have been able to surmount all initial problems and we have settled all issues with those whose farms were acquired in the construction. Ekiti is purely agrarian, and this airport will help us maximise our gains in this sector,” the governor said.

Ugandan military, police surround Bobi Wine’s residence over fresh protest

Lukman ABOLADE
-
0
Ugandan military, police surround Bobi Wine’s residence over fresh protest

THE residence of Ugandan opposition leader and presidential candidate of the National Unity Platform, Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, has been surrounded by police and military officers for staging a protest.

This is contained in a series of tweets on Wine’s official Twitter handle @HEBobiwine on Monday morning, an hour after he revealed he had been arrested by the police.

In his initial tweet, Wine announced that he had been arrested, among other protesters, by officials of the Ugandan police.

“Bobi Wine arrested as he led MPs and other leaders in a peaceful protest against the abduction, torture and murder of his supporters. The protest was taking place at City Square, Kampala,” the tweet read.

 

According to the tweet, Wine was protesting over ‘hundreds of missing Ugandans’ whose families had not heard from them for months. The tweet read that those who  showed up for the protest were ‘grossly tortured’ and man-handled by the security operatives.

After he announcing his arrest, Wine disclosed that the police had dropped him off at his home, now surrounded by security operatives.

 

The protest is part of the post-election crisis in Uganda following the January 14 election that perpetuated Youveri Mueveni’s 35-year reign in the country.

The ICIR had reported how Wine was arrested during the electioneering period and eventually placed on house arrest on Thursday 14, January 2021, after voting at the Ugandan presidential elections in his local government.

The January 14 Ugandan election was marred by voter suppression and opposition intimidation. Wine was not allowed to receive visitors for 11 days before a court judge ordered the military personnel to vacate his residence.

A few days to the election, the Ugandan government, led by Museveni, had shut down the internet, arguing that ‘it was no good’ to its people.

Also, both the European Union and the United States did not observe the election due to the government’s failure to implement previous electoral recommendations and accredit electoral observers respectively.

Again, bandits attack school in Kaduna, kidnap pupils, teachers

Vincent Ufuoma
-
0
Again, bandits attack school in Kaduna, kidnap pupils, teachers

BANDITS have kidnapped some pupils and teachers of UBE Primary School at Rama in Birnin-Gwari Local Government Area in another fresh attack on education in Kaduna State.

A resident was quoted as saying that the school was invaded on Monday morning.

It is not immediately clear how many persons were taken hostage.

Samuel Aruwan, state commissioner for internal security and home affairs, confirmed the attack but could not provide details of those kidnapped.

“The Kaduna State Government is receiving security reports of kidnapping of some pupils and teachers in a primary school located in Rema, Birnin Gwari local government area,” he said in a statement.

“According to preliminary reports, the incident occurred at an LEA Primary School in the LGA.

“The Kaduna State Government is currently obtaining details on the actual number of pupils and teachers reported to have been kidnapped and will issue a comprehensive statement as soon as possible.”

The attack took place just three days after a similar one at the Federal College Of Forestry Mechanisation in Igabi LGA.

The 39 students abducted from the school are yet to be released.

Only self-deluded people would claim that all is well in Nigeria – Obasanjo

President Muhammadu Buhari warned that the federal government would not allow the destruction of the school system by bandits — but this might be coming late.

In 2021, there have been two cases of the mass abduction of school children in northern Nigeria during attacks by bandits.

1...1,8581,8591,860...3,439Page 1,859 of 3,439