FACT CHECK: Bloodied picture of Olumide Oworu, LP Lagos assembly candidate, is from movie set

A bloodied picture of Olumide Oworu, the Labour Party (LP) candidate for Surulere LGA 1, in the Lagos house of assembly, has been circulating on social media. 

On Thursday, TheCable had reported that suspected thugs disrupted the campaign of Oworu in the Iponri area of Surulere, where one person was said to have been injured. 

Earlier on Thursday, through a tweet shared on his Twitter handle, Oworu said his team was attacked while campaigning on Tuesday, adding that the case has been reported at the Iponri police station.

“My team and I were attacked on Tuesday as we attempted to campaign at Iponri, Surulere. A member of my team was injured, but we are thankful the incident didn’t escalate past the level it was. The case has been reported at the Iponri police station,” the tweet reads.

“I am not deterred by the incident. Instead, I am more committed to seeing this through. We will pass through the wards in constituency 1 (Akinhanmi/Cole, Adeniran/Ogunsanya, Iponri Housing Estate/Eric Moore, Igbaja/Stadium, Shitta/Ogunlana Drive, Yaba/Ojuelegba). See you outside!”

I am not deterred by the incident. Instead I am more committed to seeing this through. We will pass through the wards in constituency 1 (Akinhanmi/Cole, Adeniran/Ogunsanya, Iponri Housing Estate/Eric Moore, Igbaja/Stadium, Shitta/Ogunlana Drive, Yaba/Ojuelegba). See you outside! pic.twitter.com/QwmCZcGpx1

— Olumide Abiodun Oworu (@OlumideOworu) March 16, 2023

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Oworu, popularly known as Tari in the Africa Magic series, The Johnsons, is contending the Surulere LGA I constituency seat with Desmond Elliot, another actor cum politician, and candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

On February 23, a few days before the presidential election, Oworu announced his candidacy to represent Surulere I constituency, under the LP.

My name is Hon. Olumide Abiodun Oworu, and I am here to serve. Thank you for your support. #Lumi2023 #ObiDatti2023 #HouseOfAssembly #Surulere #LabourParty pic.twitter.com/wmprOrDyZQ

— Olumide Abiodun Oworu (@OlumideOworu) February 23, 2023

Following the report of the attack, a picture of Oworu, appearing to be bleeding on the face and head, started circulating on social media. 

Some social media users were quick to link the recent attack to the bloodied picture of the actor. 

“APC is a Negro version of the Nazi Party. Look at what they did to the LP candidate in Lagos,” reads a tweet accompanied by an Instagram screenshot. 

https://twitter.com/UchePOkoye/status/1636436449196220421?s=20

“Hope the whole world have seen what Desmond Elliot did to Olumide. This won’t stop his retirement. It’s inevitable,” reads another tweet, which has now been deleted.

https://twitter.com/Onlineguru_/status/1636436150171648006?s=20

VERIFICATION

TheCable ran a Google reverse image search on the circulating picture of Oworu and found that the picture has been on the internet since 2022.

On October 3, 2022, Oworu posted the circulating picture on his Instagram page with the caption: “Alagbado John Wick #OnTheEdge 🎬”

Other versions of the same photo can be found on the Instagram page of Carina Ojoko, a special effect make-up artist.

VERDICT

The circulating image of Oworu is old and misleading. 

The five-month-old image was from a movie set, On The Edge. It has no connection with the recent attack on the LP house of assembly candidate in Surulere.