IN SHORT: Several social media posts claim that Labour Party leader Peter Obi has led anti-government protests in Abuja in August 2024. But the video used as evidence was taken months before the protests began.
A Facebook post dated 1 August 2024 claims that Peter Obi led an anti-government protest in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria.
Obi was the presidential candidate for the Labour Party in the country’s 2023 general election.
Part of the poorly written post reads: “Peter Obi is out there to address the peaceful Protestants live in Abuja.”
In the video accompanying the post, Obi can be heard saying: “Nobody here is more important than the other, including me. We are all children of God, we want the country to work, not by dividing ourselves.”
Obi has been a vocal opponent of some of the government's economic policies, arguing that they would cause undue hardship for Nigerians.
The demonstrations, labelled “10 days of rage”, began on 1 August and are expected to continue until 10 August. They have been tagged #EndBadGovernance and #EndBadGovernanceProtests.
Similar posts can be found here and here. (Note: See more instances listed at the end of this report.)
But did Obi lead the Abuja-leg of the protests? We checked.
Ignore misleading posts
Africa Check took keyframes from the video and did a Google reverse image search. This revealed that while the video and audio is authentic, it was not taken during the August anti-government protests.
The search also led us to a video of Obi posted on the Arise News YouTube channel on 26 June, with the headline: “PETER OBI INTERVENES IN LP-NLC DISPUTE.”
Obis is wearing the same outfit in the Arise News video as in the one circulating on social media. His surroundings are also the same. The video circulating on social media was taken as members of the Nigeria Labour Congress picketed outside the headquarters of the Labour Party on 26 June.
Obi debunks claim
Obi has debunked the claim on his X account, saying: “Another video circulating online, supposedly showing me leading a protest in Abuja, is also false. The video was actually taken during my visit to the Labour Party HQ, where I mediated a clash between the Labour Party and the NLC.”
Labour Party senator Ireti Kingibe also said the claim that Obi led protests in Abuja was false.
In her X post, she said: “The video being circulated is from over six weeks ago, during a Labour Party NWC meeting, when the NLC was protesting outside the Labour Party office. As stakeholders, including Senators, House of Reps members, and Mr. Peter Obi, we went out to engage with the protesters and address their concerns.”
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