Taiwo Adeyemi
Claim: An X user shared a video that the Nigerian Police has announced a 4pm curfew for all protest actions in the country.
Verdict: Misleading! There is no official communication from the Nigerian Police that imposed curfew on protesters in the country, also the Nigerian Police has debunked the report.
Full Text
Ahead of the planned nationwide protests against the economic hardship in Nigeria tagged #Endbadgovernance on 1st August, 2024, an X user @Serah Ibrahim shared a video clip from News Centra TVl newscast that the Nigerian Police has declared a 4pm curfew for all protest actions in the country.
She said “slowly and steadily, they are starting to accept that they cannot stop the Nigerian people”.
“The biggest office is the office of the Nigerian citizen. Make them REMEMBER THAT”.
According to the purported video, a newscaster on News Central TV reported that the Police has set a strict 4pm curfew for the upcoming nationwide protests.
“So protesters are endeavor to get their message across and head home before 4 O’Clock”.
“In a statement released last Friday, the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun outlined guidelines for the planned protests”.
In addition to the 4pm curfew is a request for the organizers to produce details of their proposed routes, assembling points, durations, the leader names and contacts”.
On 31st July, 2024 over one hundred and eighty thousand viewers have seen the video, over two thousand likes and over one thousand five hundred reposts.
The video has generated different reactions, @Lifeissues11 asked if poverty, hunger and insecurity go to sleep by 4pm.
“Why 4pm though? Does hunger, poverty, hardship, insecurity, inflation go to bed at 4pm? Police wey never chop dey set 4pm curfew. Yeye dey smell”.
That Irish & Shoe Plug berated the Nigerian Police for stopping people from protesting against suffering.
“To be honest I don’t know where Nigerian Police get their motivation from, we are all suffering the bad government, they have the worse living conditions yet they go about trying to stop people that want to make a statement about the sufferings”.
Mr. Stephen OSEMWEGIE said Nigerian will protest if the curfew is moved to 8:00pm.
“They should move the curfew to 8am!
Nigerians Will Still Not Backdown. They want confrontation and false pretense to teargas, an assault peaceful protester in other to provoke a response from the public. #EndBadGovernance is Moving Forward, No Going Back”.
With many reactions the video is generating and sensitivity of it. The researcher decided to investigate the truth.
Verification
The researcher thoroughly examined the video and discovered that it was from News Central TV. The station used the headline during a live program streamed on its official YouTube.
A screenshot from News Central TV YouTube with the headline “Protest must end 4pm – The Nigerian Police
However, during a press conference in Abuja, on 26th July, 2024, the Inspector General of Police called on the protesting groups to provide the protest movement’s intended venue, routes and locations for proper coordination.
He said “all peaceful protesters must be protected, and those who fail to meet the guidelines means they have ulterior motives”.
Also, in a statement issued by the Force Public Relations Officer in Abuja, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi said the information is “entirely false and mischievous”.
The statement reads in part “the NPF explained that such information would have been communicated via the official Nigeria Police Force platforms”.
“Media organizations and the general public have been advised by the statement to disregard the misinformation and rely on official statements from the Nigeria Police Force or other authorised government agencies”.
Conclusion
A statement that the Nigerian Police has declared a 4pm curfew ahead of nationwide protests is False and Misleading. The Nigerian Police has debunked the statement.