CDD FACT CHECK: No passenger with COVID-19 arrived Kano airport on Air Peace

A trending short video on Twitter that is being shared on Facebook and WhatsApp claimed a Kano-bound aircraft (Air Peace) had a passenger suspected to be carrying coronavirus (COVID-19).

The video showed that, on arrival, the flight crew refused passengers’ disembarkment from aircraft.

Also, while the landed aircraft remained locked, a background voice speaking in Hausa suggested that the aircraft be made to go back to Lagos to prevent the spread of the virus in Kano.

A caption to the video on Twitter read: Breaking News!This morning in Kano, @flyairpeace from Lagos landed at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport with a suspected #COVID19 infected person on board. The Captain refuses to open the Door after landing in Kano #TakeResponsibility#Covid19Out#LockDownNigeriaNow.

The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) has done a fact check.

FACT: CDD fact-checkers reviewed the claim to know its authenticity. Eyewitnesses at the airport explained that the 17-year-old passenger (a first timer on a plane) on Air Peace from Lagos to Kano developed motion sickness (while on board) and vomitted shortly after take-off. He was attended to to by a medical crew on the aircraft.

However, on landing at Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano, the captain of the plane drew the attention of the team of medical personnel at the airport who then examined the passenger and revealed that he has no symptoms of COVID-19.

CDD fact-checkers investigation further revealed that the video in question was shot before the medical personnel arrived and the person that shot the video interpreted that the aircraft was kept locked for fear of the coronavirus patient.

Contrary to the report, passengers disembarked peacefully and went to their various destinations.

CONCLUSION

Indepth verification on the claim that Air Peace brought a coronavirus patient from Lagos to Kano on Tuesday, March 24, 2020, CDD Fact Check found the claim to be false even though claim received a high social media patronage and many people were misled into believing the viral video.