FACT-CHECK: Did Ebonyi govt ‘repatriate 800 indigenes stranded in Lagos’ as X page claims?

Claim: Ebonyi State government has repatriated 800 indigenes stranded in Lagos State.

Verdict: True. However, the narrative that the repatriation is a result of the campaign to drive “non-indigenes” out of Lagos State is misleading.

Full Text:

On March 22, an X account (@NigeriaStories) claimed that the government of Ebonyi State has repatriated indigenes stranded in Lagos State.

Ebonyi State is one among the five states in the South-East region, while Lagos is one among the six South-West states.

The account usually posts content about Nigeria to its over 500k followers.

The recent claim has garnered diverse views on X, with some users commending the development.

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A few of the comments read: “So Lagos don turn to America wey dem dey deport (repatriated) people back to their father’s land…”, “Congratulations 🎊 👏 to them for leaving Lagos a very dirty and smelling city.”, “Is it Lagos that Yoruba people can’t pay house rent.”, “APC is working”.

The claim has gained over 176k views and 4k engagement within 24 hours.

Verification:

Ripples Nigeria reports that on March 17, the Ebonyi State government repatriated indigenes stranded in Lagos State after the demolition of illegal structures in Ilaje Otumara and Baba Ijora communities of the state.

It should be noted that demolition affect not just indigenes of Ebonyi State but many others from other parts of the country.

Also, the development is not connected to online campaigns that people from a particular region should return to their region.

Since the past month, Ripples Nigeria observes the proliferation of ethnic narratives on Nigeria on X-formerly-Twitter space.

Different hashtags have been used in the past to promote divisive posts. Both federal and state governments and well-meaning Nigerians have condemned the narrative.

Conclusion:

While the news of repatriation of Ebonyi indigenes is true, the narrative that it is part of the campaign to drive people from other regions out of Lagos State is misleading.

By: Quadri Yahya

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