By Pascal Ibe

Claim

An X user, @PrinceSaviour has shared a photo of Kogi ex-governor Bello on crutches and claimed it was recent.

Verdict

This claim is MISLEADING. Findings showed that this photo was taken in 2018 during the APC governors’ meeting in Abuja. 

He sustained the leg injury while alighting from his official car.

Full Text

Ex-governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, alongside two others, Umar Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu, is facing trial on 16 counts preferred against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission bordering on criminal breach of trust and money laundering to the tune of N110.4 billion.

Also, Bello faces a 19-count charge brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) relating to money laundering, breach of trust, and misappropriation of public funds totaling ₦80.2 billion.

Justice Anenih had earlier ordered Bello’s remand in Kuje correctional facility pending the hearing and determination of his bail application after rejecting the application for procedural irregularities in its filing.

Justice Nwite has also ordered Bello’s remand in Kuje prison pending the perfection of the bail terms granted.

As of Friday evening, Mr Bello perfected his bail conditions.

Given this, an X user, @PrimceSaviour, has shared an image of the ex-Kogi governor on crutches and claimed it was recent.

He posted the image with a caption that reads, “Yahaya Bello appear for court  like this today with clutches

“Nigeria politicians are criminals except Peter Obi and his like minds.

The post generated over 25k likes and more than 200 reposts.

Verification

FACTWATCH Nigeria subjected this image to Google Image Reverse Search and results showed that the photo was taken in 2018.

In a report, Vanguard captioned the image, “Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello shortly after Meeting of APC NCW with Governors of the Party in Abuja“.

To further verify the reason for Mr. Bello being with clutches, this Fact Checker did a simple keyword, “Yahaya Bello leg injuries,” into Google search, and a news report by Channels TV on 3rd April 2018 confirmed that Mr. Bello sustained a leg injury while alighting from his official car.

The report noted that the incident happened at the old market area in Lokoja when the ex-governor was waiting to receive the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara.

Conclusion

The X user @PrinceSaviour intentionally recirculated a 2018 photo of Yahaya Bello on crutches to mislead the public.