FACT CHECK: Was Wamba named one of the most peaceful LGs in Nigeria?

CLAIM:Wamba LGA emerges as one of the Most Peaceful Local Governments in Nigeria —Daily Trust Newspaper.

VERDICT:False

FULL TEXT

On November 6, 2023, Faisal Arap, an indigene of Wamba local government claimed on a Facebook group, “Welcome to Wamba” that a Nigerian newspaper, Daily Trust, reported that Wamba local government area was named as one of the most peaceful places in the country. On the image shared, the claim was on the newspaper’s front page.

The post has generated 57 likes, 28 comments and was shared three times on Facebook. It has also been circulated widely on various WhatsApp platforms, attracting many views and comments.

Wamba, is one of the 13 local government areas located in Nasarawa State, Nigeria.

VERIFICATION

Findings show that the claim is FALSE.

To verify the authenticity of the claim, this reporter searched and found the original printed copy of the newspaper for that day and made a comparison with the soft copy that was used virally on social media.

First, this reporter observed that on top of the forged soft copy, it was written, “This is a great day for Wamba as we have been named one of the most peaceful local governments in Nigeria” with ‘love’ emoji at the end of the statement.

Photo of the fake soft copy as posted on Facbook

Further findings revealed that the story was not reported by any credible media platform including Daily Trust. Contrary to features observed in the previous publications of the newspaper. the front page of the forged publication containing the false claim doesn’t have the subheading and page number of the full story.

The original printed copy, showed that it was the same publication that had the bold picture of Gaza people unpacking items from a truck.

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We also found out that the copy also has the web link of Nigerian Daily Trust on the top right side of the newspaper which is not peculiar to the structure of Daily Trust publications either soft or printed copy. A search on Google shows that the Nigerian Daily Trust Newspaper only used, “THE NEWSPAPER YOU CAN TRUST” in capital letters on top of both its online and printed copies without including its web link underneath.

The Original Printed Copy

The original headline on the hardcopy for that day is, “Manufacturers groan as diesel price hits N1,300/litre” with page number (4) . This was altered to read “Wamba LGA Named as One of the Most Peaceful Local Government in Nigeria” in the fake copy.

Photo of the original printed copy

The original printed copy which has other similar headlines as the forged softcopy does not have the title of the false claim boldly written on the front page of the newspaper.

Moreover, during a closer view, it is seen that the fake copy has the same sub-headlines “Manufacturers groan as diesel price hits N1,300/litre” which are: ‘It is hitting us hard–truckers’, ‘Inflation may get worse’, ‘Factories may shutdown–experts’. These sub-headlines are not related to the bold headline of the fake copy about Wamba LG.

The editor, Nigerian Daily Trust Newspaper who spoke to this reporter through his correspondent in Abuja for verification on the November3, 2022 publication, confirmed that the newspaper has NOT published any story reflecting Wamba in Nasarawa state as one of the most peaceful local governments in Nigeria.

The correspondent said, “Our publication of Friday, 3rd November 2023 only has the headline ‘Manufacturers groan as diesel price hits N1,300/litre, not Wamba as one of the most peaceful local governments in Nigeria”.

CONCLUSION

The claim that Wamba LGA was named as one of the most peaceful local governments in Nigeria, and allegedly published by the Nigerian Daily Trust newspaper is false, multiple evidence shows that the soft copy is forged and doctored to mislead the public.

By Usman Yakubu Usman

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