Double-Check: Facebook user share misleading claim about River Niger and Benue

Claim:  A page on  Facebook shared a claim that a large river with two colours in an image is located in River Niger and Benue, at the place of confluence, in Lokoja, Nigeria.

Verdict:  The Image used to describe rivers Niger and Benue is false. The river is the Rhone and Arve rivers, located in Geneva, Switzerland.

Full text

Nigeria takes great pride in the River Niger and the River Benue, both situated in the North Central region of the country. Notably, these distinct waterways converge at a point commonly referred to as the ‘confluence,’ located in Lokoja, the capital of Kogi State.

The National Inland Waterways Authority emphasizes that the River Niger and Benue serve as the primary channels for inland navigation, connecting various water bodies, including regions such as Cross River, Badagry, Lagos, Ogun-Ondo, Benin, Nun River, and several other states in Nigeria.

Furthermore, these rivers establish links with five neighbouring countries, namely Benin Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Chad, and Niger Republic, through water routes.

In line with this, on September 19, 2023, the Facebook page “Kogi Global Media” shared an image portraying a river displaying two distinct colours, one side was green and the other brown, accompanied by the following caption:

“This is our beloved Lokoja, Kogi State, where the two largest rivers in West Africa meet. River Niger and River Benue are the two largest rivers in West Africa.”

The post goes on to describe the image saying, “ While River Niger is brownish in colour, River Benue is the greenish colour.”

When this was seen, the post had 2,000 comments, and 11 thousand likes and has been shared over 1,000 times. 

Respondents to the post seem to believe that the post is correct. 

Ahmodu Jibrin, for instance, said, “ I’m proud of my state.” 

Ijelvu Golden Eluu said, “ Awesome God is his name.”

Shafau Bukola said, “ I have been there, God is great.” 

Majority of the comments came from users who were thanking God for his creative handwork and also from Indigines of Kogi state who were proud to come from a state with such an endowment.

A search by Prime Progress showed that the same image with the same narrative has previously been shared, here, here and here.

On the surface, the terrain of the river in the claim didn’t look like Nigeria, but to be sure of its authenticity, Prime Progress decided to push further for clarity.

Verification

To verify the image’s authenticity, Prime Progress did a reverse image search, and the result showed that the same image was posted on Flickr, a photo and video hosting service, by a user called Sarag693 on August 7, 2013. The inscription beneath the image also stated that the two rivers were the confluence of the Rhone and Arve Rivers in  Geneva. See the image below.

The confluence of the Rhone and Arve rivers in Geneva, Switzerland, is a unique and beautiful natural landmark that has fascinated locals and visitors for generations. This confluence marks the point where the Rhone- one of the largest and longest rivers in Europe- meets the Arve, a smaller river that originates in the mountains near Chamonix.

The Rhone River, which starts in the Swiss Alps, is a major waterway that flows through several countries, including Switzerland, France and eventually into the Mediterranean Sea. The Arve, on the other hand, is a mountain stream that travels through scenic valleys and towns before meeting the Rhone.

 These videos, here and here,  show the beauty of the location and further give credence to the actual location.

Conclusion 

While the Rhone and Arve river in Geneva has a point of confluence, just like River Niger and Benue, the search shows that the images linked to the claims made are not authentic. This, in other words, renders the claim false.