Babatunde Okunlola

Claim: A social media user posted a video claiming that the man in the video is an APC LG chairman being flogged for selling palliatives meant for his local government.

Verdict: Misleading! Findings show that the video is from an incident involving a public beating as a result of a theft.

Full Text

Public distrust has been a significant hurdle in government interventions for sharing palliatives in Nigeria. The country has seen several allegations and cases of corruption by government officials, which has led to citizens’ suspicions of government officials. 

Over time, there have been outrage and public outcry over accusations that government officials had hoarded these “palliatives,” meant to aid citizens during lockdowns, instead of distributing them. Nigerians reacted with a mix of anger and frustration, with some looting the warehouses to claim what they felt was rightfully theirs. Politicians in the past have denied hoarding, and blame has been traded on where the fault lay. 

These incidents have often raised questions about transparency in aid distribution, with calls being made for public humiliation and some even resorting to attacking public officials.

On April 2, 2024, an X user @E_philips5 posted a 2 minutes, 30 seconds video on the platform of a purported APC Local government chairman who was tied to a tree while being flogged by some irate men for allegedly selling palliatives meant for his local government. The tweet reads:

“APC local government chairman who sold palliatives meant for his local government was seriously beaten by angry youths in the Northern part. This is a lesson to our leaders that anything can happen.”

As of April 10, 2024, the tweet had been viewed over 1.3 million times, with over 2,320 reposts and 7000 likes.

The comment section had diverse comments of support, disbelief, and indifference by platform users.

@mrxtrade commented: “This is what I have been saying. Let’s start with the counsellors and chairmen.”

@laykay0808 commented: “Fake news.”

@_chikai.oi commented: “We are getting there, just with time. I do not encourage this, but neither do I condemn it. it is what it is.” 

Due to the virality of the post and its sensitivity, DUBAWA carried out a fact check to investigate the claim and set the record straight. 

Verification

A search on Google Lens using screenshots from the posted clip brings up several news sites, the oldest being from correctng.com, April 26, 2023, with the caption: “Woman’s brothers tie her husband to tree, flog him for constantly beating her.” 

Another post uploaded by Ghpage.com on July 13, 2023, has the following caption: “Village chief whipped by his people for stealing money meant for the construction of wells.” 

The instances cited above point to the fact that this isn’t a recent video, and the first uploads contradict one another. While several stories and contexts abound online about what the videos portray, none place or break down what was said, so a speech analysis was conducted to clarify.

Speech analysis

DUBAWA spoke to Ms Zainab Jallo Baba, a Malian, who identified the language as Fulfude. Although, she said it is unclear what dialect from the continent is being spoken. She clarified that the discussion was about theft, but the conversation didn’t clarify what was stolen. According to her, the man tied to the tree and being flogged keeps calling a certain Ahmadu, who is also present at the scene but unwilling to listen to his plea.

She added that the flogged man is asked if he perpetrated stealing the item by himself or just as the recipient of the stolen item, but he affirms that he stole it himself. Further, when asked where he stole it, he said it was from the sellers. When asked to clarify the identity of which of the sellers, he says it’s one Alhaji Mangal. He further clarifies that the man is from Burkina Faso. 

From the above, it can be deduced that:

1. The language spoken is Fulfulde, which the Fulanis speak. 

2. The variant of the Fulani dialect spoken is not from the Ghana or Nigeria region. 

3. The issue is a case of theft; however, what was stolen isn’t clear from the conversation as he was not allowed to explain it in detail.

4. The owner of the stolen item is an Alhaji Manga from Burkina Faso. 

The above debunks the storyline that the man being flogged is an APC LG chairman and the context tied to a palliative. Giving credence to this is also the fact that no credible mainstream media platform in the country reports on this occurrence, which is odd considering the prominence of such an officeholder and the newsworthiness of such an event.

Conclusion

The video depicting an APC LG chairman being flogged for selling palliatives meant for his local government is misleading. Findings show that the video is from an incident of a public beating as a result of a theft. 

The researcher produced this fact-check per the DUBAWA 2024 Kwame KariKari Fellowship, in partnership with Diamond 88.5 FM Nigeria, to facilitate the ethos of “truth” in journalism and enhance media literacy in the country.