No, Study Does Not Show Staring at Women’s Breasts Prolongs Lifespan

A 20-year-old hoax suggesting that staring at female breasts has the effect of promoting longevity in men has been circulated by the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, the government-controlled news wire service. Other media houses also fell for the age-long hoax. Crediting NAN, news platforms including Premium Times and TheCable reported the “study” on Tuesday. Vanguard Newspaper, DailyPost, and many other web platforms have likewise shared the report …

Photos from 2015 Polls, Xenophobic Attacks Shared in Connection to Kogi, Bayelsa Elections

Pictures from the general elections conducted four years ago and 2015 xenophobic attacks in South Africa have been recently shared in support of claims about violence in Kogi and Bayelsa gubernatorial elections, The ICIR has observed. A report by The Nigerian News, a “citizen’s online publishing and broadcasting platform”, shared on Tuesday made use of a suspicious …

Nigeria’s Massive Data Poverty and Why We Should be Concerned

Nigeria is the world’s 13th largest oil producer and President Muhammadu Buhari re-affirmed in his latest Independence Day address that oil constitutes the bulk of Nigeria’s revenue and foreign exchange earnings. But, as the country quickly depletes her limited oil reserves and the world at large advances in technology, experts agree it’s time it focused on something else: data.   Communications Minister Isa Ali …

Pushed Beyond Borders: A Peek into the Dark World of Child Trafficking Between Benin and Nigeria

When Beninese parents are pushed to the wall due to poverty and the burden of caring for too many children, they often send their wards to neighbouring Nigeria with the help of traffickers to earn extra income. In part one of this investigative series,  ‘Kunle ADEBAJO tells the story of what lies on the other …

Nigeria’s Manufacturing Output Is The Same Today As It Was In 1982

Statistics show that, in nearly four decades, the output of Nigeria’s manufacturing sector has remained the same. The World Bank estimated that, as of 2018, the country’s Manufacturing Value Added (MVA) was worth $31 billion. But checks by The ICIR revealed that this was also the figure in 1982. On Friday, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, …

The Many Social Media Lies of Lauretta Onochie, President Buhari’s Aide

Pictures can mislead in several ways: when they contain false information, are doctored to misinform or are employed in a false context. As part of a series scrutinising online posts by prominent social media users, The ICIR used publicly available tools to verify pictures shared on Twitter by Lauretta Onochie, Personal Assistant on Social Media …

Data: 309 Reported Killed, Over 100,000 Displaced Due to Xenophobia in SA since 1994

Since the end of South Africa’s apartheid system in 1994, there have been at least 569 incidents of xenophobic violence in the country. Of these, 529, recorded up till December 2018, led to 309 deaths, 901 physical assaults, 2,193 looted shops, and over 100,000 people displaced. This is according to a report released by Xenowatch in December 2018. Xenowatch …

Photos of Burnt Animals in Popular Tweet aren’t From Fires in Amazon

In August 2019 many news outlets reported that the world’s largest rainforest, the Amazon, was burning at an alarming rate. The National Institute for Space Research (INPE) in Brazil, the country home to more than two-thirds of the forest, recorded over 70,000 fires across the region in 2019.  Many people have shared images of the fires and of animals killed in …

Brazen Police Extortion is Frustrating Rape Victims’ Quest for Justice in Nigeria

Victims of rape hardly get justice in Nigeria. Oftentimes the miscarriage of justice happens because law enforcement officers compromise. ‘Kunle ADEBAJO reports. “Sorry sir, this amount that they told me, I don’t have up to that o,” Nanpon Julius pleads after exchanging pleasantries and introducing himself. He is on the phone with Okokon Udo, a …

Landlord Rapes Two Young Sisters and Flees; Nearly Two Years After, Justice Still Eludes Devastated Family

If you asked Grace Bako, 10, or her sister, Janet, 14, what careers they’re interested in when they become grownups, they would reply, Medicine and Pharmacy. And if you asked why, their explanation would be: to treat people, especially little children, who are dealing with trauma. What they may not immediately disclose though is that …