Friday, February 15, 2019
Video - Importance of peace accord ahead of elections in Nigeria
Ahead of Nigeria's presidential election scheduled for Saturday 16th February, the two main candidates Muhammadu Buhari and Atiku Abubakar signed a peace accord on Wednesday. They both pledged to accept the result of the poll as announced by INEC, and to be ambassadors of peace in the country.
But just how important is the accord to Nigerians?
Thursday, February 14, 2019
The spread of fake news in Nigerian elections
The campaign to elect Nigeria's next president is drawing to a close with accusations flying over the abuse of social media to spread misleading information.
Both of the main political parties have told BBC Reality Check their rivals are involved in the spread of disinformation.
The incumbent president, Muhammadu Buhari, of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and his main rival, Atiku Abubakar, running for the People's Democratic Party (PDP), have both been the target of videos containing dubious or inaccurate information, being shared online.
Accusations flying in both directions
"There has been some efforts by the PDP campaign to push disinformation," says Tolu Ogunlesi, head of digital communications for President Buhari.
Both parties deny any knowledge of people inside the party spreading disinformation.
"The APC is predicated on propaganda - they have manipulated pictures and words," says Paul Ibe, a media adviser to Mr Abubakar.
The APC denies the accusations and attacks the PDP for spreading lies.
"Political parties support and encourage the dissemination of divisive 'fake news' on their behalf but have little control over its development and spread," according to Jonathan Fisher, who is overseeing a project looking at the role of WhatsApp in Nigeria's elections.
Written posts, photos and videos have been shared on social media platforms, publicly on Facebook and in private WhatsApp groups, spreading unsubstantiated rumours about the candidates.
One of the most prominent is that a double is standing in for President Buhari at public events, which he has repeatedly and firmly denied.
Here is a round-up from Reality Check of some of the false rumours and misleading information spread against the two men vying to become Nigeria's next president.
Missing Dapchi girl
One example of disinformation, which started to appear on social media a few days ago, has been about Leah Sharibu, a 15-year-old held captive for nearly a year by Islamist militants Boko Haram for refusing to convert to Islam.
More than 100 girls were kidnapped from the village of Dapchi, in northern Nigeria, and all but one have now been released.
The messages and posts, spread on WhatsApp and Facebook, claimed that Leah had died - and they quickly went viral.
An anonymous "family source" had confirmed the death of the girl, according to social media posts.
In response, a government minister called the story "absolute fake news" and Mr Ogunlesi, from Mr Buhari's campaign, says the story was used to deliberately target the government.
Free cash?
The accusation here is that opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar was behind a ploy to hand out cash and food boxes at a political rally.
This story was shared online by an aide to President Buhari, who posted a photo of boxes wrapped together with Nigerian currency notes in the northern state of Sokoto.
"Keep them in poverty, then give them handouts - Atiku in Sokoto yesterday," she wrote.
The Buhari campaign denies spreading any disinformation.
However, the photo is two years old and was taken at an event organised by the Kokun Foundation, which campaigns against hunger.
A media adviser for the Atiku campaign told BBC Reality Check: "Atiku will not give handouts to anybody."
Make Nigeria worse again?
Another widely shared video accuses Atiku Abubakar of brokering a deal with Boko Haram in exchange for land and oil.
The short video, viewed over 200,000 times, was shared from a Facebook page called "Make Nigeria Worse Again". But it has no details about where or when the Atiku campaign was supposed to have announced the plan.
The Atiku campaign team told BBC Reality Check that the deal did not exist - "there is nothing to that affect".
When Buhari voted 'against Nigeria'
And finally, we've turned up an inaccurate story doing the rounds online portraying Muhammadu Buhari as both unpatriotic and bestowing favours on a member of his own ethnic group when he was military head of state in the 1980s.
This would be potentially damaging to Mr Buhari's attempt to appeal to all Nigerians, not just those from his own region.
The story relates to Mr Buhari's failure to support the election of a Nigerian candidate for the post of secretary general of the Organisation of African Unity, the precursor of the African Union (AU).
Instead, the story goes, he supported a non-Nigerian from the neighbouring country of Niger - where a member of his own Fulani ethnic group was a candidate for the job.
This story has been repeatedly and emphatically rejected by the president's spokesman, Garba Shehu.
BBC
Both of the main political parties have told BBC Reality Check their rivals are involved in the spread of disinformation.
The incumbent president, Muhammadu Buhari, of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and his main rival, Atiku Abubakar, running for the People's Democratic Party (PDP), have both been the target of videos containing dubious or inaccurate information, being shared online.
Accusations flying in both directions
"There has been some efforts by the PDP campaign to push disinformation," says Tolu Ogunlesi, head of digital communications for President Buhari.
Both parties deny any knowledge of people inside the party spreading disinformation.
"The APC is predicated on propaganda - they have manipulated pictures and words," says Paul Ibe, a media adviser to Mr Abubakar.
The APC denies the accusations and attacks the PDP for spreading lies.
"Political parties support and encourage the dissemination of divisive 'fake news' on their behalf but have little control over its development and spread," according to Jonathan Fisher, who is overseeing a project looking at the role of WhatsApp in Nigeria's elections.
Written posts, photos and videos have been shared on social media platforms, publicly on Facebook and in private WhatsApp groups, spreading unsubstantiated rumours about the candidates.
One of the most prominent is that a double is standing in for President Buhari at public events, which he has repeatedly and firmly denied.
Here is a round-up from Reality Check of some of the false rumours and misleading information spread against the two men vying to become Nigeria's next president.
Missing Dapchi girl
One example of disinformation, which started to appear on social media a few days ago, has been about Leah Sharibu, a 15-year-old held captive for nearly a year by Islamist militants Boko Haram for refusing to convert to Islam.
More than 100 girls were kidnapped from the village of Dapchi, in northern Nigeria, and all but one have now been released.
The messages and posts, spread on WhatsApp and Facebook, claimed that Leah had died - and they quickly went viral.
An anonymous "family source" had confirmed the death of the girl, according to social media posts.
In response, a government minister called the story "absolute fake news" and Mr Ogunlesi, from Mr Buhari's campaign, says the story was used to deliberately target the government.
Free cash?
The accusation here is that opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar was behind a ploy to hand out cash and food boxes at a political rally.
This story was shared online by an aide to President Buhari, who posted a photo of boxes wrapped together with Nigerian currency notes in the northern state of Sokoto.
"Keep them in poverty, then give them handouts - Atiku in Sokoto yesterday," she wrote.
The Buhari campaign denies spreading any disinformation.
However, the photo is two years old and was taken at an event organised by the Kokun Foundation, which campaigns against hunger.
A media adviser for the Atiku campaign told BBC Reality Check: "Atiku will not give handouts to anybody."
Make Nigeria worse again?
Another widely shared video accuses Atiku Abubakar of brokering a deal with Boko Haram in exchange for land and oil.
The short video, viewed over 200,000 times, was shared from a Facebook page called "Make Nigeria Worse Again". But it has no details about where or when the Atiku campaign was supposed to have announced the plan.
The Atiku campaign team told BBC Reality Check that the deal did not exist - "there is nothing to that affect".
When Buhari voted 'against Nigeria'
And finally, we've turned up an inaccurate story doing the rounds online portraying Muhammadu Buhari as both unpatriotic and bestowing favours on a member of his own ethnic group when he was military head of state in the 1980s.
This would be potentially damaging to Mr Buhari's attempt to appeal to all Nigerians, not just those from his own region.
The story relates to Mr Buhari's failure to support the election of a Nigerian candidate for the post of secretary general of the Organisation of African Unity, the precursor of the African Union (AU).
Instead, the story goes, he supported a non-Nigerian from the neighbouring country of Niger - where a member of his own Fulani ethnic group was a candidate for the job.
This story has been repeatedly and emphatically rejected by the president's spokesman, Garba Shehu.
BBC
Opposition party in Nigeria elections alleges ghost voters
Nigeria's opposition says there are more than 1 million ghost voters on the national register head of Saturday's presidential election.
Uche Secondus, the chairman of the opposition People's Democratic Party, told a news conference in the capital, Abuja, on Thursday that the electoral commission "did not in fact do a cleanup of the register of voters" before publishing it.
He also alleged "a coordinated approach to register foreigners" as voters.
The People's Democratic Party, whose presidential candidate is Atiku Abubakar, is Nigeria's main opposition party.
A spokesman for the electoral commission did not respond to requests for a comment.
The electoral commission says 84 million people are registered to vote.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and his top challenger, Abubakar, renewed a pledge for a peaceful poll on Wednesday.
AP
Uche Secondus, the chairman of the opposition People's Democratic Party, told a news conference in the capital, Abuja, on Thursday that the electoral commission "did not in fact do a cleanup of the register of voters" before publishing it.
He also alleged "a coordinated approach to register foreigners" as voters.
The People's Democratic Party, whose presidential candidate is Atiku Abubakar, is Nigeria's main opposition party.
A spokesman for the electoral commission did not respond to requests for a comment.
The electoral commission says 84 million people are registered to vote.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and his top challenger, Abubakar, renewed a pledge for a peaceful poll on Wednesday.
AP
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
Stampede in President Buhari rally leaves several dead
Several people have been killed in a stampede at a rally in support of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari's candidacy days before the country's presidential and legislative elections, his office has said.
The incident on Tuesday took place in Port Harcourt, a southern city in the Niger Delta oil-production heartland.
Buhari's office said in a statement the president had been "informed of the tragic deaths of several members of his All Progressives Congress (APC) party".
Local media said panic broke out at the end of the gathering, held inside the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium when crowds tried to force their way through a locked exit.
"Those from behind were pushing and putting pressure on those in front leading to some persons falling on the ground and being trampled upon," said journalist Egufe Yafugborhi of the Vanguard newspaper.
In a statement, Judith Amaechi, who runs the party's regional women and youth team, expressed "deep shock over the death of APC members who were in a stampede".
The statement did not specify the number of people killed.
Separately, a spokesman for the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital said the stampede claimed at least 14 lives.
"There are others under medical attention at the Emergency Unit, so we can't force a clear figure beyond what the situation is at the moment," Kem Daniel-Elebiga told AFP news agency.
Rising tensions
The February 16 elections in Africa's most populous country will see Buhari stand for a second four-year term against former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in what is expected to be a close race.
In recent weeks, tensions have risen between the APC and Abubakar's People's Democratic Party (PDP).
The PDP has accused the government of seeking to rig the vote while the APC has said the opposition party is fomenting unrest.
On Sunday, five APC members were shot and killed near the oil hub of Warri city in southeast Nigeria, with authorities calling it a revenge attack by people suspected to be from the opposition.
Clashes between APC and PDP supporters have been reported from various places in Africa's largest democracy.
Nigeria has a history of election violence, with analysts warning that the forthcoming vote might be one of the bloodiest in its history.
The last election in 2015 was considered free and fair, but state and local elections, as well as earlier presidential polls, have been marred by violence and fraud allegations.
Al Jazeera
The incident on Tuesday took place in Port Harcourt, a southern city in the Niger Delta oil-production heartland.
Buhari's office said in a statement the president had been "informed of the tragic deaths of several members of his All Progressives Congress (APC) party".
Local media said panic broke out at the end of the gathering, held inside the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium when crowds tried to force their way through a locked exit.
"Those from behind were pushing and putting pressure on those in front leading to some persons falling on the ground and being trampled upon," said journalist Egufe Yafugborhi of the Vanguard newspaper.
In a statement, Judith Amaechi, who runs the party's regional women and youth team, expressed "deep shock over the death of APC members who were in a stampede".
The statement did not specify the number of people killed.
Separately, a spokesman for the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital said the stampede claimed at least 14 lives.
"There are others under medical attention at the Emergency Unit, so we can't force a clear figure beyond what the situation is at the moment," Kem Daniel-Elebiga told AFP news agency.
Rising tensions
The February 16 elections in Africa's most populous country will see Buhari stand for a second four-year term against former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in what is expected to be a close race.
In recent weeks, tensions have risen between the APC and Abubakar's People's Democratic Party (PDP).
The PDP has accused the government of seeking to rig the vote while the APC has said the opposition party is fomenting unrest.
On Sunday, five APC members were shot and killed near the oil hub of Warri city in southeast Nigeria, with authorities calling it a revenge attack by people suspected to be from the opposition.
Clashes between APC and PDP supporters have been reported from various places in Africa's largest democracy.
Nigeria has a history of election violence, with analysts warning that the forthcoming vote might be one of the bloodiest in its history.
The last election in 2015 was considered free and fair, but state and local elections, as well as earlier presidential polls, have been marred by violence and fraud allegations.
Al Jazeera
Tuesday, February 12, 2019
Video - Boko Haram conflict tops agenda at Nigeria election
The people of Nigeria will vote for their new government on Saturday. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari won the election in 2015, promising to fight corruption and the armed group Boko Haram. A recent surge in attacks claimed by Boko Haram in the Lake Chad region has forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes. The violence affects parts of Chad, Niger, and Cameroon with Nigeria’s Borno State the worst affected. Al Jazeera's Ahmed Idris reports from the state capital Maiduguri on how security remains top of the agenda ahead of Nigeria's upcoming elections.
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