In a recent announcement, the US State Department announced that some Nigerians whose activities contributed to undermining democracy had been placed on visa restrictions. There has been much speculation on the identity of these Nigerians. Recently, The Explainer fact checkers found twitter handles which have been peddling the claim that the names of some prominent Nigerian on the Visa restriction list. The claim as disseminated by a twitter user Prince Adesina @RealAdesina Tuesday 16 May 2023 is still being circulated at the time of this fact check. The twitter user made the claim that “US Visa Restrictions, Peter Obi, Aisha Yesufu, Fals others made the list’ also The Explainer factcheckers spotted another claim posted by a Facebook user Victor Udoh, the claim in the post read “You people think we are joking this time. Mr Yakubu, Wike, Bayo Onanuga, MC Oluomo and Festus Keyamo made the US visa ban list. America no dey disappoint, very extensive”.
To verify these claims, The Explainer reviewed a post on the official twitter page of the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken @SecBlinken on Monday which announced that the US has imposed visa restriction on specific individual who undermined the democratic process during the democratic process during Nigeria’s 2023 elections. The statement read: “We have imposed visa restrictions on specific individuals who undermined the democratic process during Nigeria 2023 elections. We remain committed to supporting Nigerian aspirations to strengthen democracy and rule of law”. Also, in a press statement released on the official website of the United States Government on Monday, May 15, the US announced that steps have been taken to impose visa restriction on special individuals in Nigeria for undermining the democratic process during Nigeria’s 2023 election cycle. Checks by The Explainer revealed that at no time did the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken list the names of the Nigerians affected by the visa restriction.
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Further findings by The Explainer reveals that section 222(f) of the US Immigration and Nationality Act provides that the records of the Department of States and of diplomatic and consular offices of the United States pertaining to the issuance and refusal of Visas or permits to enter the United States shall be considered confidential and such records may be made available to court if the information is needed. The fact that the US as a matter of policy does not disclose the identities of those on visa restrictions makes it apparent that the list being circulated amounts to disinformation.