Posts misleadingly claim Nigerian opposition leader Obi addressed anti-government protesters

When Nigerian protests against the government began on August 1, a post on X shared a video of Obi addressing a crowd.

“BREAKING: Peter Obi is currently addressing the peaceful protesters live in Abuja, showing his support for a peaceful protest,” reads the post. “The protesters have gathered to voice their concerns about the rising cost of living and economic hardship in the country.”

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A screenshot of the misleading X post, taken on August 6, 2024

On Facebook, a page called “Eagle Media TV Nigeria” shared the same claim on the same day.

“Peter Obi Went to Address FCT (Federal Capital Territory), Abuja Protesters,” reads the caption.

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A screenshot of the misleading Facebook post, taken on August 6, 2024

The claim was repeated in other Facebook posts (such as here and here).

Nigerian demos

On August 1, 2024, thousands took part in demonstrations across the country against government policies and the high cost of living (archived here).

The demonstrations turned violent with rights group Amnesty International accusing security forces of killing at least 21 demonstrators, while police said seven people have died but denied responsibility (archived here).

Africa's most populous country is struggling with soaring inflation and a sharply devalued naira after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ended a costly fuel subsidy and liberalised the currency more than a year ago in a bid to improve the economy.

The claim that Obi addressed protesters on the streets of Abuja started circulating on the first day of the protests.

But the video is old and unrelated to the anti-Tinubu demonstrations.

Video predates protests

Using the video verification tool InVID-WeVerify, we conducted reverse image searches on multiple keyframes and located two video reports on YouTube (here and here) showing Obi making the same address to the same crowd, albeit the footage was taken from a different angle (archived here and here).

“Peter Obi Intervenes as NLC Invades Labour Party Office,” reads one caption while the other was titled “Peter Obi Intervenes in LP-NLC dispute”.

The first video was published on a Nigerian YouTube channel called Njenje Media TV on June 25, 2024. The other was a report by London-based broadcaster Arise News that followed a day later.

According to local reports, members of the transition committee of the country’s trade union body, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), were picketing at the headquarters of the Obi-led Labour Party over leadership wrangles (archived here). 

On X, Obi also dismissed the misleading posts and described them as “part of a larger narrative of blackmail” (archived here).

“Another video circulating online, supposedly showing me leading a protest in Abuja, is also false. The video was actually taken during my visit to the Labour Party HQ, where I mediated a clash between the Labour Party and the NLC,” he wrote on August 2, 2024.

On August 4, 2024, Tinubu urged the demonstrators "to suspend any further protest and create room for dialogue," his first public comments since the rallies started (archived here).

Obi criticised Tinubu’s address, saying that he failed to address issues triggering the agitation in the West African nation (archived here).