Fact checkers at the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD West-Africa) have debunked a claim making the rounds online that 18 people were killed in Idanre Local Government Area of the State during the ongoing November 16, 2024 Governorship election. The fact check released by the CDD West Africa Countering Disinformation War Room was written by Olatunji Raji, a fact checker and sub-editor.
It noted that the claim originated via the CDD via the CheckbyMeedan tool, an open source information gathering portal, which allows citizens to report trending information in online and offline spaces. The claim emerged amid reports of violence and voting disruptions at some polling units within the LGA. To verify the authenticity of the claim, the CDD countering disinformation War Room contacted field observers and ‘soldiers of mouth’ on election duty. The sources in the LGA confirmed that no such incidents of death were recorded in the LGA during the election.
“Furthermore, as of the time of this report, a thorough search across the media space revealed no credible reports supporting the claim that 18 people were killed in Idanre LGA,” the fact checker noted.
Disinformation targeting the electoral process, not only in Nigeria, but across the West Africa region has emerged as one of the major threats to the sanctity of the electoral process. Comparatively however, disinformation has been relatively lower in the Ondo governorship election compared to the Edo State poll, which saw more numbers in terms of false claims and narratives before, during and after the election, which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared was won by Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC). As at the time of this report, collation for the Ondo governorship election is underway, and the declaration of results could follow today.
