No, the US secretary of state did not say he refused to meet Atiku Abubakar over corruption

  • This article is more than one year old.
  • Published on February 22, 2019 at 15:42
  • 1 min read
  • By AFP Nigeria, Mayowa TIJANI

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Posts shared more than 3,000 times on Facebook and Twitter claim that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo refused to meet Nigerian opposition presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar because he had been indicted for corruption in the United States. This is false; Pompeo did not make these comments, and the US Diplomatic Mission in Nigeria says the posts are “manufactured content”. Abubakar has also never been formally charged with any offence in the United States.

The most shared version of the post, bearing a photo of Pompeo, is captioned: “BREAKING NEWS : I personally refused to meet him or have anything to do with him (Atiku). I am really surprised that an individual indicted in the United States of America of huge corruption is being considered for Nigeria President and citizens are even supporting him - U. S Secretary of State, Michael R. Pompeo.”

Screenshot taken on February 22, 2019, showing a false Facebook post about Mike Pompeo

Others were posted here and here.

The posts attempt to play on Abubakar’s recent visit to the United States, which was intended to disprove rumours that he was unable to travel because of the corruption charges. In January, Atiku visited Washington and met some congressmen, but not the secretary of state.

The US mission in Nigeria said the comments were not made by Pompeo, describing them as “manufactured content” and “fake news”.

Pompeo called Atiku and Buhari less than 24 hours before the initial election date on February 16 seeking a fair and peaceful vote, according to a statement from the US State Department.

Abubakar, Nigeria’s vice-president from 1999 to 2007, is the chief challenger to incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari in the February 23 presidential election.

He has faced many allegations of corruption and abuse of public office, but has denied any wrongdoing, stating that he has never been indicted of corruption in Nigeria or elsewhere.

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