FACT CHECK: Did South Africans attack Nigerians in Johannesburg after AFCON match?

CLAIM: South Africans attack Nigerians living in Johannesburg after Super Eagles defeated Bafana Bafana in the semi-final of AFCON.

VERDICT: False!

FULL TEXT

Super Eagles of Nigeria went through to the final of the African Cup of Nations after narrowly defeating Bafana Bafana in the semi finals. The thrilling match which was played on Wednesday night, was decided by a penalty shootout after the two teams played a 1-1 draw.

Before the match there were concerns of possible Xenophobic attacks especially in South Africa, as it is a regular occurrence in the country.

The Nigerian government, through the High Commission in South Africa, expressed concern before the match and urged Nigerian citizens to be mindful of their utterances, as well as where they choose to watch the match, especially in public places in the Host Country.

“The attention of the Nigeria High Commission Pretoria has been drawn to potentially inflammatory online comments made by a section of South African citizens against Nigerians living in the host country,” a statement from the High Commission read.

The South African government reacted to the concerns, arguing that the statement from the Nigerian High Commission was issued in bad faith.

South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) described the safety concerns expressed by the Nigerian government as “false alarm”.

“The South African national soccer team, Bafana Bafana, has played against their Nigerian counterparts, the Super Eagles, on many occasions, and there has been no history of soccer hooliganism among South Africans associated with the outcome of such encounters,” it said.

“As we have done in the past with similar alarming advisories, we call on the diplomatic representatives to approach DIRCO to address any concerns about diplomatic matters,” DIRCO said.

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After the match, a Facebook page claimed that Nigerians were being attacked in Johannesburg. capital of South Africa. The post included pictures purportedly of the attack on Nigerians.

The page, Igbo Times Magazine, posted: “Breaking News: South Africans Begin Attack On Nigerians In Johannesburg And Looting Of Their For Losing To Nigeria…

At least six Nigerian shops have been set on fire while others are been looted by South African anger moob for losing to Nigeria last night.”

VERIFICATION

Firstly, there are no reports of such attack on credible online news platforms. Then Ripples Nigeria conducted reverse checks on the pictures shared.

We found that the pictures are old and are of xenophobic attacks in South Africa and Nigeria in 2019. One of the pictures is of an attack in South Africa in 2019, while the other is of a retaliatory attack on South African businesses in Nigeria.

See the screenshots below:

CONCLUSION

The claim, that South Africans attacked Nigerians in Johannesburg after a football match between the two countries, is false. The pictures shared are old.

By Oluwatobi Odeyinka.

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