FACT CHECK: Did Obasanjo say Nnamdi Kanu will get Biafra?

On February 10, Daily Times Nigeria posted a statement which it attributed to former President Olusegun Obasanjo saying Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), would get Biafra.

“With what I saw at UK Parliament, I can boldly say that Nnamdi Kanu has gotten Biafra,” the statement read.

The post, which was published on the verified Facebook and Twitter platforms of the news media, quoted African Voice Television as its source.

The post has so far accrued over 5,000 likes, 2,600 comments and shared more than 3,000 times on Facebook. On Twitter, the post has generated over 3,700 likes, 1,875 retweets and 337 comments.

Obasanjo: "With what I saw at UK Parliament, I can boldly say that Nnamdi Kanu has gotten Biafra" pic.twitter.com/Ugp7T5jcco

— Daily Times Nigeria (@DailyTimesNGR) February 8, 2022

Other social media pages, like Daily Biafra, a Facebook page with over 163,000 followers, have also circulated the statement, with hundreds of their followers sharing and commenting on the post.

"With what I saw at the UK Parliament, I can boldly say that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has gotten Biafra" proclaims President Olusegun Obasanjo after his visit to the UK Parliament. pic.twitter.com/sh1nMISkNz

— Patriots Africa Magazine (@africa_patriots) February 9, 2022

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"With what I saw at UK Parliament, I can boldly say that
Nnamdi Kanu has gotten Biafra"~ Obasanjo#FreeMaziNnamdiKanu#BiafraNow pic.twitter.com/KpjINIVSmJ

— Ogbonna (@realAKPAVINCENT) February 8, 2022

VERIFICATION

Findings by TheCable revealed that the post was first published on the Facebook page of one African Voice Television on February 8 without a web link to access the full report. The post has attracted 671 likes, 197 comments and 538 shares.

A further look at the report attributed to the former president showed there was no mention of the date or venue where he purportedly made the statement.

Also, no other credible news medium in the country reported the statement aside Daily Times. 

However,  in a keynote address he delivered in 2016, Obasanjo described “Biafra secession issue” as dead, and advised that no Nigerian should give vent to the agitation.

When contacted by TheCable, Kehinde Akinyemi, Obasanjo’s spokesman, dismissed the claim, saying the former president would not utter such statement.

He described the post as a way to garner “unconscionable followership and accrue funds by the news media,” he said. 

“It’s fake. Baba won’t even comment on such issue.” 

VERDICT

There is no proof Obasanjo said Nnamdi Kanu will get Biafra.