IN SHORT: According to some Facebook posts, the governor of Nigeria’s Abia state interfered in the arrest of 59 young people accused of internet fraud. However, we found no evidence of such an arrest in the state around the time the posts were published, and the state government has labelled them “fake news”.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is a government agency responsible for fighting financial crimes in Nigeria.
On 13 May 2025, EFCC officials arrested 17 suspected internet fraudsters in the north-central state of Kwara. This was one of many such arrests since early 2025, with most of the suspects reportedly being young people.
In this context, multiple Facebook posts claim the Abia state government blocked an EFCC convoy for arresting a group of boys.
One of the posts, dated 20 May 2025, reads: “Breaking News: The Abia State Government has blocked the convoy of the EFCC in Aba after they arrested more than 59 youths and attempted to move them to Abuja. Governor Otti ordered his security team to stop the convoy and demanded the immediate release of all 59 boys, instructing them to leave Aba at once.”
The post also quotes Abia state governor Alex Otti as saying: “Aba boys are not thieves or killer herdsmen. No such arrests of my people will happen under my watch. Head back to Sokoto and arrest the Fulani herdsmen, not innocent Aba youths.”
Aba is a city in Abia state, in the southeastern region of Nigeria. Sokoto state is in the northwestern region.
The Fulani are a dispersed group of cattle herders scattered across West Africa. In Nigeria, conflict between Fulani herders and farming communities has escalated because of competition over land and resources. The group has also been linked to armed attacks, kidnappings and banditry, but there is no evidence that all Fulani are involved in criminal activities.
Similar posts making this claim can be found here and here (Note: See more instances listed at the end of this report.)
But did the Abia state government block an EFCC convoy for arresting the boys? We checked.
Abia state government debunks claim
The EFCC has been releasing statements on such arrests on its website, and the local media usually reports on them. If a governor had blocked EFCC officials from doing their job, it would’ve made headlines. But we couldn’t find a statement or news reports on “59 suspected internet fraudsters arrested in Abia” around the time the claim started circulating.
On 20 May, Otti’s special adviser on media, Ferdinand Ekeoma, debunked the claim.
“FAKE NEWS ALERT! The reports attached herewith, are as FAKE as the person/persons behind it, and thus should be ignored. Completely. Abia State Government does not meddle in the activities of legitimate government agencies like the EFCC and other sister anti graft agencies, let alone do so in defence of suspected fraudsters,” he said on Facebook.
The claim is false and should be disregarded.
The false claim also appears here, here, here, here and here.
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