Claim: An X account (formerly Twitter) shared a post alleging that a Nigerian businessperson was apprehended in South Africa for dealing in drugs.
Verdict: Misleading. While the claim regarding a man’s arrest for alleged drug dealing is partially accurate, its association with South Africa is inaccurate and unsubstantiated.
Full Text
Historically, the relationship between Nigeria and South Africa has been reduced to three major categories: conflict, cooperation, and competition. In relation to conflict, 2015 and 2017 marked years when foreign countries in South Africa were attacked. In that attack, nationals of Zimbabwe and Nigeria bore the brunt of the violence, which later intensified into xenophobic attacks. The incident was attributed to the inciting words of the Zulu king, who asked all foreigners to leave the country.
Cases like drug crimes are also not far-fetched. In November 2022, there were reports of the arrest of five Nigerian nationals who possessed cocaine and crystal meth in Pretoria, South Africa. Similarly, a 34-year-old man was kept behind bars following suspicions of drug possession at his residence in Wisteria Street, Flora Park, Polokwane, Limpopo, South Africa.
Recently, an X user shared a 10-minute video on Feb 24, 2024, with a caption that reads: “A Nigerian businessman based in South Africa was arrested for allegedly dealing in hard drugs.”
The video attached to the claim showed a man who looked tense but was gallantly responding to the security personnel who kept asking incessant questions about his identity and his work because they suspected him of being a drug dealer.
Other individuals in the room, also seemingly handcuffed, watched as he loudly protested that he was innocent.
The video also contained coloured text above the clip that reads: “A well-known spare part dealer (Nigerian National) that goes by the name ‘Japan’ from Old Clara Town Bushrod Island was allegedly caught with huge amounts of illicit drugs in his compound in Sayon Town Community earlier today, Feb. 21. 2024 {sic}.”
A separate text beneath the clip inquires if viewers think he is innocent. The footage was also credited to “Eben TV Live” which was boldly captioned in the middle.
In the comment, there were contrasting views like that of @Mildred_preen, who said: “The man knows his right…. South Africans are doing too much to Nigerians.”
Another user named @Prince flexy said: “Wished things can just be better at home. South Africans are full of hate. Dem for dey suffer under white men if not for the struggle of other African countries with the help of Mandela. Evil mentality folks.”
@Kodie also added, “They should leave this man jare. No evidence whatsoever!!! A big man like you should have a lawyer.”
As of March 11, 2024, the post had 210,000 views, 396 comments, 356 reposts, 726 likes, and 220 bookmarks.
We noticed an oddity with the accent of the claimed South African operatives questioning the detained man; based on the suspicion, we decided to ascertain the veracity of the information.
Verification
We subjected the video to the WeVerify tool and broke it into keyframes. Having done a Google Reverse Image Search, we traced the footage to two articles, here and here, and a video related to a case in Liberia.
According to the reports, the Liberian Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA) raided premises in Sayon Town on February 21, 2024, apprehending several suspected drug dealers, including a Nigerian national called George Ikepehekwu Obi, who also goes by the street name “ Original Japan.”
The police noted that the organised activity was to combat drug-related crimes. He discovered that Obi, the man filmed protesting for his innocence, wore the same patterned shirt in the reports and video images.
The police also noted that the old Clara Town is a slum located on Bushord Island in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia. Sayon town community, on the other hand, is located in the west of Greater Monrovia and Liberia.
Nonetheless, Eben TV Live is a self-acclaimed news outlet based in Liberia that publishes various topics ranging from entertainment to social media news. We traced the Facebook and TikTok accounts, which had 318 followers and 17,000 followers, respectively.
The video shared on X was originally posted on Eben TV Live’s TikTok account, with no mention of South Africa. That, however, was changed when a different user shared it.
To confirm that the claim was untrue, we checked to see if there were reports of the arrest in the traditional media or if any of the said towns were also in South Africa. We found that none of the locations were in South Africa.
Conclusion
The footage showcasing an apprehended man said to have been arrested for dealing in drugs in South Africa is misleading. He was arrested in Liberia during an operation by the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency. The activity was mainly confined to Liberia, with no links to South Africa.
The researcher produced this fact-check per the DUBAWA 2024 Kwame KariKari Fellowship , in partnership with Prime Progress, to facilitate the ethos of “ truth” in journalism and enhance media literacy in the country.
An X account shared a misleading post about a Nigerian businessperson's arrest in South Africa for drug dealing. While the arrest did occur, it was in Liberia, not South Africa.
The video showed a Nigerian man being questioned, but inconsistencies in the operatives' accents led researchers to use verification tools. These tools traced the footage to Liberia, where the Liberian Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA) had arrested several suspected drug dealers, including the man in the video.
The video originated from a Liberian news outlet, Eben TV Live, with no reference to South Africa. The misinformation spread when a different user shared the video, falsely linking it to South Africa.
The post's erroneous claims were further debunked by confirming no reports of such an arrest in South African media or locations. Therefore, the association with South Africa is unsubstantiated and misleading.
The research was conducted under the DUBAWA 2024 Kwame KariKari Fellowship to promote truth in journalism and enhance media literacy.
