Back to Africa Check

No clampdown on Nigerians living in Ghana – embassy debunks ‘fake news’

A message circulating online claims Ghana’s government is set to clamp down on Nigerians living in the country without residence permits. 

It urges Nigerians in Ghana to withdraw their money from Ghanaian banks and mobile banking platforms, “because from next month November 2019 all Nigerians who are not having Resident permit can not take their money from any bank in Ghana”. 

The message also says Nigerians should make sure any businesses they own in Ghana are properly registered, to avoid losing their livelihood.



Treatment of Nigerians in other countries


The message has sparked online debate about the treatment of Nigerians in other African countries. 

On Nairaland, a Nigerian online forum with over 2.3 million members, users attributed the rumoured clampdown to Nigeria’s refusal to reopen its western border with Benin, despite a request to do so by the Ghanaian government.

Debunked by Nigeria’s high commission


But a statement signed by Ibrahim Abdulazeez, head of chancery at the Nigerian High Commission in Accra, Ghana, described the message as fake news and urged Nigerians living in Ghana to disregard it.

It quotes Olufemi Abikoye, the Nigerian high commissioner to Ghana, as saying: “Nothing of that nature was released by either the mission or any of the host’s relevant ministries and agencies saddled with the responsibility. 

“On this note, the commission advises all Nigerians in Ghana to ignore the fake news and continue to be law-abiding citizens of Nigeria in Ghana.” – Allwell Okpi




 

Republish our content for free

Please complete this form to receive the HTML sharing code.

For publishers: what to do if your post is rated false

A fact-checker has rated your Facebook or Instagram post as “false”, “altered”, “partly false” or “missing context”. This could have serious consequences. What do you do?

Click on our guide for the steps you should follow.

Publishers guide

Africa Check teams up with Facebook

Africa Check is a partner in Meta's third-party fact-checking programme to help stop the spread of false information on social media.

The content we rate as “false” will be downgraded on Facebook and Instagram. This means fewer people will see it.

You can also help identify false information on Facebook. This guide explains how.

Add new comment

Restricted HTML

  • Allowed HTML tags: <a href hreflang> <em> <strong> <cite> <blockquote cite> <code> <ul type> <ol start type> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd> <h2 id> <h3 id> <h4 id> <h5 id> <h6 id>
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
  • Web page addresses and email addresses turn into links automatically.
limit: 600 characters

Want to keep reading our fact-checks?

We will never charge you for verified, reliable information. Help us keep it that way by supporting our work.

Become a newsletter subscriber

Support independent fact-checking in Africa.