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No, Nigerian musician Wizkid not jailed for calling president Buhari ‘clueless’

“Wizkid will go to jail for 3 month for calling President Buhari Clueless,” reads the headline of a 2 June 2020 article on the Nigerian blog Legit Fund

The article claims singer-songwriter WizKid tweeted criticism of Nigerian president Muhammad Buhari, comparing him to US president Donald Trump and saying Buhari was “clueless to the issues bothering this country”. 

It then quotes “the federal government” as saying: “Ayo Bolagun popularly known as wizkid will be jailed for 3 month for calling the president clueless.”

The article has been viewed more than 13,500 times on Facebook. 

Has Wizkid been jailed for criticising Buhari on Twitter? We checked. 



WizKid criticised president, but not jailed


On 1 June Wizkid tweeted: “Police dey kill black Americans and Naija police dey kill Nigerians. No man fit sort this matter. God save us.”

He followed this up with: “Buhari/Trump same person lol only difference be say one sabi use twitter pass the other. Clueless!”

The musician was responding to an outcry on social media against gender based violence and police brutality in Nigeria. This was in part sparked by continuing protests in the US after George Floyd, a black man, was killed by a white police officer.

Nigerians have been speaking out against police brutality in their own country. The case of teenager Tina Ezekwe, who was allegedly shot by police officers on 26 May, has drawn widespread condemnation

No credible news organisation has reported that Wizkid has been jailed for his tweets. And the musician has not mentioned it on his Twitter timeline.

In fact, he has continued to tweet since the article announced he would be jailed. His most recent tweet, from 4 June, was about his latest music video.  

Nigerian artist WizKid did use the word “clueless” in a tweet about Trump and Buhari. But he has not been sentenced to three months in prison because of it. – Naledi Mashishi




 

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