IN SHORT: From 1 to 10 August 2024, Nigeria was rocked by anti-government protests. There were also pro-government demonstrations in some cities. But the evidence presented as proof that people were paid to take part in pro-government protests is flawed.
Several social media posts claim that some Nigerians were paid to take part in pro-government protests.
As evidence, the posts feature a video of people being given money with the caption: “Payment after protest against upcoming protest. Thieves.”
Similar posts can be found here and here. (Note: See more instances listed at the end of this report.)
Anti-government protests took place across Nigeria from 1 to 10 August 2024. The protests, which were tagged #EndBadGovernance on social media, were mainly driven by the rising cost of living. Many Nigerians expressed frustration at government policies that they felt had exacerbated their struggles.
Pro-government protests were also held before and during the #EndBadGovernance demonstrations. The two groups even clashed in Lagos, the country's economic hub, on 1 August.
But does the video doing the rounds on social media show pro-government demonstrators receiving money? We checked.
Video not related to pro-government protests
Africa Check noticed that the people being given money are wearing white caps with photos of two people, most likely politicians. This suggests that the video could be showing election-related activities.
We used the video analysis tool InVID to break the video down into keyframes and ran them through Google reverse image search.
We found that the video was posted on X (formerly Twitter) on 29 July with the claim it showed vote buying in Nigeria’s Edo state.
Another X post said the video was from the ruling All Progressives Congress primary election in Edo state.
The same video was posted on a popular blog, headlined: “Viral Video shows APC agents distributing money to residents ahead of Edo governorship election.”
The Edo state governorship election is scheduled for 21 September. The election is highly anticipated, with several key candidates representing major political parties.
While this does not prove that the video is definitely related to the Edo elections, it does indicate it is not related to August pro-government protests.
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