Imo State government’s approval for inter-ethnic marriages misleading

Headline showing Imo State government’s approval for inter-ethnic marriages misleading

Views: 44

Claim: A Facebook user claims the Imo State governor, Hope Uzodinma, announced free marriages between Imo indigenes and Fulani settlers in the state.

Verdict: Misleading! DUBAWA’s research shows that the attached picture has been altered to represent a false narrative, and the claim has been recycled.

Full Text

Recently, there has been a spurring ethnic feud among the three major ethnic groups in Nigeria across different social media platforms.

Amidst this, a Facebook user, Ferdinand Azi, on Sept. 30, 2024, asserted that the incumbent Imo State governor, Hope Uzodinma, has approved free marriages between Imo State indigenes and Fulani settlers.

Attached to the post is a national daily newspaper, This Day, which mentions that a N1 million fine would be imposed on any resident who fails to abide by the law.

When DUBAWA viewed the post, it had over 14 comments, five likes, and one share.

DUBAWA noticed that many X and Facebook users shared the post. See here, here, here, here, and here.

While some users believed the story, others doubted the likelihood of such a policy.

A Facebook user, Bright Chinedu, demanded: “Why not give out his own daughter first?”

Reacting, Chukwuma Ndukwe wrote: “419 of this man will never end. Why didn’t he start with his daughter?”

Another user, Ifeanyi Okoh, said: “I do not believe this news. I know that Uzodinma is actually a stooge, but going to this extent is unthinkable.”

“We need to hear from Imo People too!” John Kalu wrote.

The need to curb potential misinformation in such a sensitive assertion led DUBAWA to verify this one.

Verification

DUBAWA subjected the picture to Google Reverse Image Search, which led us to a This Day report published in August 2021, in which the media platform debunked the claim.

The report showed that the front page of the newspaper was changed from the original headline, “Buhari elated as NNPC breaks jinx, declared N287bn profit, first in 44 years,” to “Shocking: Uzodinma declares free marriage between Fulani settlers and Imo ladies.”

Furthermore, we scoured credible media reports and found that TheCable and Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported the debunk made by This Day in 2021.

Conclusion

DUBAWA’s investigation showed that the claim was unfounded and misleading. Our findings revealed that the picture has been altered and is not recent.

About The Editor 632 Articles
The Editor of The Heartlander. - News & Views from Imo State, the Eastern Heartland of Nigeria

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