BY: Abayomi Abdulwaliyy Jolayemi
CLAIM:
A viral video shared by X user @DeeOneAyekooto claims that Benji Obi, a former aide to Peter Obi, exposed his principal’s corruption.
VERDICT:
MISLEADING.
FULL TEXT:
The claim is contained in a video circulating on social media in which Benji Obi, a former aide to Peter Obi, is presented as having “exposed” corruption allegedly committed by his former principal.
The video refers to allegations made by Benji Obi in 2016, following a disagreement between him and Peter Obi, who served as governor of Anambra State from 2006 to 2014.
The allegations are not new and date back to October 2016. However, the viral post presents the old allegations as an established exposure of corruption without providing the context that they were claims made by a former aide and were disputed at the time.
VERIFICATION:
FactCheckAfrica traced the claim to reports published in Nigerian media in October 2016 and found that Benji Obi did publicly make allegations against Peter Obi.
In an October 14, 2016 report, Vanguard reported that Benji Obi, identified as Peter Obi’s former Special Assistant on Inter-party Affairs, challenged claims by his former principal concerning the financial prudence of his administration.
Benji Obi reportedly questioned spending under Peter Obi’s administration and made allegations concerning the use of helicopters, private jets, bulletproof vehicles and expenditure at the Government House.
He also made a more sensational allegation that Peter Obi allegedly travelled with several suitcases containing foreign currency.
However, these statements were allegations, and the reports do not establish that Benji Obi provided independently verifiable documentary evidence proving the allegations.
The distinction is important because the viral claim uses the word “exposed.” To expose corruption in the evidentiary sense would ordinarily mean bringing forward verifiable evidence that establishes wrongdoing. The available reports establish that Benji Obi made the allegations, but they do not establish that the allegations were subsequently proven.
There is also evidence that Peter Obi’s activities were subjected to scrutiny by law-enforcement authorities, but these later events should not be conflated with Benji Obi’s 2016 allegations.
In April 2017, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) searched an apartment occupied by Peter Obi at Osborne Towers in Ikoyi, Lagos, following the discovery of large sums of money in another apartment in the building. THISDAY reported that Peter Obi confirmed the search of his apartment.
PUNCH also reported that the EFCC searched Obi’s apartment as part of its investigation. According to the report, Obi’s media aide said nothing incriminating was found in the former governor’s apartment.
The EFCC search therefore confirms that Peter Obi was subjected to an investigation-related search. It does not, however, establish the truth of the specific allegations made by Benji Obi in 2016.
Peter Obi also faced separate scrutiny following the publication of the Pandora Papers in 2021. The ICIR reported on offshore businesses and assets linked to Obi, while PUNCH reported that Obi said he would honour an EFCC invitation concerning the matter once he received it.
However, the Pandora Papers controversy was separate from Benji Obi’s 2016 allegations and cannot, by itself, be used to establish those earlier allegations as true.
FactCheckAfrica therefore finds that the viral video combines a genuine historical event Benji Obi’s public allegations with an unsupported conclusion that those allegations constituted a proven exposure of corruption.
The fact that an allegation was made, reported by the media, or later discussed alongside other investigations does not automatically make the allegation proven.
CONCLUSION:
Benji Obi, a former aide to Peter Obi, did make serious allegations against his former principal in 2016, and contemporary Nigerian media reported those allegations.
However, the evidence reviewed by FactCheckAfrica does not establish that the specific allegations were proven as facts or that Benji Obi provided evidence that conclusively established Peter Obi’s corruption.
Peter Obi has faced separate scrutiny, including an EFCC search of his apartment in 2017 and questions arising from the Pandora Papers in 2021. However, these events are distinct from Benji Obi’s 2016 allegations and should not be presented as proof that the allegations were true.
Therefore, the viral claim that Benji Obi “exposed his principal’s corruption” is MISLEADING because it presents disputed allegations as an established finding of corruption.
