By Mustapha Lawal
Claim
An X (formerly Twitter) user (Ejikeme with the handle @ejykmykel1) tweeted a video where he claimed some women in Lagos, Nigeria are protesting naked against the economic hardship in the country and placing curses on President Bola Tinubu.
The video captioned: “Lagos women protesting naked and placing a curse on Tunibu over the hardship of the Nation” was tweeted by the user at around 12;59 pm on February 17, 2024 by the user whose account is verified and has in its description, a social media influencer with about 18, 257 followers.
As of the time of this report, the post has garnered over 757,000 views, 323 comments, 437 reposts, 411 likes and 99 bookmarks.
Verdict
The claim is Misleading! The protest video claiming to show naked women protesting in the tweet was confirmed to have happened in Anambra State in November 2023 and not in Lagos as claimed. Although market women protested in Lagos over the rising cost of living on February 10, 2024. However, there is no concrete evidence to support the claim that the women protested naked or placed a curse on Tunibu during the protest.
Full-text
The current economic situation in Nigeria has posed many netizens asking the question of where the next protest will be held. There have been protests against economic hardship in Nigeria, with recent demonstrations reported in various parts of the country, including Kano, Niger, Ibadan and Osun.
The protests have been fueled by the high cost of living, inflation, and overall economic challenges the population faces. Certain forms of disinformation have been spread across social media platforms as regards these protests.
On the 17th of February 2024, An X (formerly Twitter) user, Ejikeme with the handle @ejykmykel1 tweeted a video that women in Lagos staged a protest naked and cursed President Bola Tinubu over the economic hardship facing the country. The video has music playing over it
Ejikeme tweeted, “Lagos women protesting naked and placing a curse on Tunibu over the hardship of the Nation”. The handle, which is a verified account, has in its description, a social media influencer with 18,257 followers.
As of February 21, 2024, when this report is being made, the post has been viewed over 757,000 times, with 323 comments, 437 reposts, 411 likes and 99 bookmarks.
Other users on the platform, hinted at the news being fake with comments to suggest that and a notable comment of the link to an earlier upload of the video in November 2023. The video has been edited with additional audio laid over the original voice, probably to suit the narrative being peddled by the account.
There have been a series of protests in the country as Nigerians took to the streets to express their anger at the increase in the price of goods and commodities. Residents of Kano, Ogun, Niger and Oyo states have staged protests over the economic crisis in Nigeria.
Additionally, the Nigeria Labour Congress has planned a nationwide protest scheduled for February 27 and February 28, 2024, in response to the economic hardship being experienced.
Verification
FactCheckAfrica verified the claim by subjecting the keyframes of the video to Google Reverse Image search. We found that the video was from a protest against cult-related killings in the Awka community located in Awka South Local Government Area, Anambra State in November 2023 and not in Lagos State as claimed.
FactCheckAfrica went a step further to check news about the original protest using our newly developed AI fact-checking tool (My AIFactCheck). The AI tool revealed with links to four top sources (including Punch, PremiumTimes, DailyPost and Vanguard) and fourteen other sources that the Awka community, located in Awka South Local Government Area of Anambra State, has witnessed protests against cult-related killings in November 2023.
Furthermore, a keyword search on the internet brought news links to The Nation, 247UReports, Statepress.ng and Nairaland. The news articles backed the findings that the protest happened in Anambra State on Wednesday, November 22, 2023, when Indigenes of Awka expressed their concerns over the spate of cultism and killings of their kinsmen through peaceful demonstrations. The protesters were demonstrating while also accusing some senior officers in the police command of aiding and abetting bribery and corruption in the area.
The banner that the women carried shows the essence of the protest in November 2023. The protesters carried placards with statements like: “Cultists are killing our people”, “Remove bad eggs from Police”, “Nigeria Police deserve better not director of crime”, “DC causing Insecurity in Awka”, “Say no bribery and corruption”, among others.
However, market women protested in Lagos over the rising cost of living on February 10, 2024.
According to sources quoted by our AI tool (My AIFactCheck), women in Lagos protested against the administration of Bola Tinubu over the rising cost of living and hardships faced by Nigerians.
They carried placards with messages such as “Baba Tinubu, Nigerians are hungry” and “Tinubu, come and rescue us.” However, there is no concrete evidence in the provided data to support the claim that the women protested naked or placed a curse on Tunibu during the protest.
Conclusion
The claim is Misleading! The protest video claiming to show naked women protesting in the tweet was confirmed to have happened in Anambra State in November 2023 and not in Lagos as claimed. Although market women protested in Lagos over the rising cost of living on February 10, 2024. However, there is no concrete evidence to support the claim that the women protested naked or placed a curse on Tinubu during the protest.
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