Claim: A video circulating online shows women in Lagos, Nigeria, protesting naked against the economic hardship in the country.
Verdict: Misleading
An X (formerly Twitter) user, Ejikeme, with the handle @ejykmykel1 tweeted that women in Lagos staged a protest naked and cursed President Bola Tinubu over the economic hardship facing the country.
On the 17th of February 2024, Ejikeme tweeted, “Lagos women protesting naked and placing a curse on Tunibu over hardship of the Nation”.
The handle, which is a verified account, has in its description, a social media influencer with 18,257 followers.
As of February 21, the post has been seen by almost 756,000 people, generated 437 retweets, 411 likes, 323 comments, and 99 bookmarks.
There have been a series of protests in the country as Nigerians took to the streets to express their anger at the increase in the price of goods and commodities. Residents of Kano, Ogun, Niger and Oyo states have staged protests over the economic crisis in Nigeria.
The organised labour congress has also announced a nationwide protest for February 27 and 28 over the hardship in the country.
Verification
Using InVid Weverify and google reverse image search to check the keyframes of the video, it was discovered that the protest in the video happened in November 2023 and not in Lagos State as claimed.
The video has also been edited with additional audio laid over the original voice, probably to suit the narrative being peddled by the account.
Furthermore, a keyword search on the internet brought news links to The Nation, 247UReports, and Nairaland.
The news articles backed the findings that the protest happened in Anambra State on Wednesday, November 22, 2023. The protesters were demonstrating against cult-related killings in Awka community located in Awka South Local Government Area while also accusing some senior officers in the police command of aiding and abetting bribery and corruption in the area.
The protesters also carried placards having statements like: “Cultists are killing our people”, “Remove bad eggs from Police”, “Nigeria Police deserve better not director of crime”, “DC causing Insecurity in Awka”, “Say no bribery and corruption”, among others.
Conclusion
The post is misleading, as the protest is confirmed to have happened in Anambra State in November 2023. The video claiming to show naked women protesting in Lagos has also been demonstrably fabricated.
Disclaimer: This fact-check report is based on the information available at the time of writing.