“This is a street in Ikotun, Alimosho Local Government, Lagos State, Gafaru Street,” reads a post shared on Facebook on 28 June 2020. It shows a photo of a tarred road completely destroyed by water-filled erosion ditches, impassable to any vehicle.
“This and many more streets have been like this for many years and they are neglected with reckless abandon,” the post adds.
Ikotun is a community in the Alimosho local government area of Nigeria’s Lagos state.
The post was flagged as potentially false on Facebook’s fact-checking system. Is the damaged street where the user says it is?
A reverse image search reveals that the photo was originally published in an article in GQBUZZ, a Nigerian news site, in July 2019.
“Too bad! See the deplorable state of these Lagos roads. Governor Sanwo-Olu must see these photos,” the headline reads.
The photo’s caption says it was taken on Gafaru Street, at Gafaru bus stop, off Ijegun Road in Ikotun. “According to our findings, this street had been abandoned for the past 17 years by the state government,” the article says.
The photo was republished in a BBC Yoruba article on 7 November 2019. Here the headline reads “Faṣola ni àwọn ọ̀nà Nàìjíríà kò bàjẹ́ tọ bí wọ́n ṣe ń pariwo,” or “The roads in Nigeria are faulty as they cry.”
Using Instant Street View, which uses the Google Street View service, we were able to determine that the photo was taken on Gafaru Street in Ikotun – although the road was in a better condition when the Street View image was taken in 2017.
The main point of reference matching the photo is a multi-storey cream and chocolate building. – Motunrayo Joel
“This and many more streets have been like this for many years and they are neglected with reckless abandon,” the post adds.
Ikotun is a community in the Alimosho local government area of Nigeria’s Lagos state.
The post was flagged as potentially false on Facebook’s fact-checking system. Is the damaged street where the user says it is?
Photo was taken in Ikotun
A reverse image search reveals that the photo was originally published in an article in GQBUZZ, a Nigerian news site, in July 2019.
“Too bad! See the deplorable state of these Lagos roads. Governor Sanwo-Olu must see these photos,” the headline reads.
The photo’s caption says it was taken on Gafaru Street, at Gafaru bus stop, off Ijegun Road in Ikotun. “According to our findings, this street had been abandoned for the past 17 years by the state government,” the article says.
The photo was republished in a BBC Yoruba article on 7 November 2019. Here the headline reads “Faṣola ni àwọn ọ̀nà Nàìjíríà kò bàjẹ́ tọ bí wọ́n ṣe ń pariwo,” or “The roads in Nigeria are faulty as they cry.”
Photo confirmed with Google Street View
Using Instant Street View, which uses the Google Street View service, we were able to determine that the photo was taken on Gafaru Street in Ikotun – although the road was in a better condition when the Street View image was taken in 2017.
The main point of reference matching the photo is a multi-storey cream and chocolate building. – Motunrayo Joel
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