Fact-Check: No! Nigerian Police Did Not Set a 4 PM Curfew for Protesters
By Dauda Musbau
Claim
Police have fixed the 4 pm curfew for protests.
Verdict
False
Full Text
An X user @Morris_Monye posted on 29 July 2024 to claim that the Nigeria Police Force have issued a curfew because of the planned nationwide protest (#EndBadGovernance) that is scheduled to hold in August.
A curfew is a rule that some or all people must stay off the streets during particular hours, used esp. to maintain peace during a period of violence.
We also retrieved a video clip uploaded by @TheSerahIbrahim on her X page, equally claiming the same thing as @Morris_Monye.
The post reads, “BREAKING:
Nigeria Police Force fixes 4pm curfew for all Protest actions in the country.
Slowly and steadily, they are starting to accept that they cannot stop the Nigerian people.
The biggest office, is the office of the Nigerian citizen. Make them REMEMBER THAT.”
In the video, the newscaster said, “In a statement released last Friday, Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun outlined guidelines for the planned protest. In addition to the 4 pm curfew, he request the organizer to provide details for their proposed roads, assembly points, duration, leader’s name and contacts.”
The claim was also amplified by a blog called Nigerian Bulletin as seen here.
The veracity of this claim made FactCheckAfrica seeks verification.
Verification
FactCheckAfrica thoroughly examined the video clip shared by @TheSerahIbrahim and discovered that it was from the New Central Tv,
A cursory look at their live broadcast on YouTube and some of their videos, we were able to trace the video to them.
Secondly, we found out that IGP Olukayode Egbetokun did not list not outlined the 4 pm curfew among the conditions he gave last Friday as seen here in a media report
FactCheckAfrica reached out to Josephine Adeh, a Police Public Relation Officer, Abuja who said nothing of such as happened.
“Not true please,” she said, “If anything like that happened you would have seen a press release.”
Conclusion
By reaching out to the Nigeria Police Force and combing through the internet, FactCheckAfrica can confirm that the Nigeria Police did not set a 4 pm curfew for the protesters.