By Pascal Ibe

Claim

@SizweBansi on the X platform published a video of an arrested Nigerian couple over an alleged child crime, and claimed it was a recent incident.

Verdict 

This claim is MISLEADING. A simple keyword in a Google search showed that the incident happened in 2027. The X user deliberately recirculated the video to malign the Yoruba ethnic groups in Nigeria’s Southwest.

Full Text

The easiest way to get visibility and many followers on X platform and other social media is by posting ill content, whether old or recent, to attract more people.

An X user, @SzweBansi, had published a video showing a Nigerian couple arrested over alleged child crime in the US.

@SizweBansi claimed that the couple killed their son. The user also claimed that the incident happened recently.

The X user posted the video and wrote, “Breaking 🚨: Yoruba couple, Olawusi Olalekan and Arinola have been arrested for murdering their child. Olawusi, a Yoruba man from Southwest Nigeria, and his wife are now listed among the 15 most wanted fugitives in the United States“.

The post which generated over 196k views and more than likes, has been greeted with comments which affirmed that many people believed that this claim occurred recently.

@waxdigital, who commented on the post, said, “This is a big disgrace to Nigeria as a whole. Two Yoruba individuals brought this shame upon us. But honestly, how does biting a baby’s legs make them grow? Such backward and shallow thinking. I know some people will rush here to defend this nonsense, but before you embarrass yourself, please watch the video. Let me just say that when it comes to kidnapping, killings, ritual practices, and robbery, you can always count t on the Ronu people. It’s truly a shameful mentality.”

Verification

When this Fact Checker, did a simple keyword search, “Olawusi Olalekan and Arinola”, into Google search and discovered the incident happened in 2017.

According to a Credible report by reputable news organizations, which was published in April 2017,  a Nigerian couple in the United States was arrested after their three-month-old baby was found with fractures in his arms, legs, and skulls.

Arinola Olawusi, 33, and Olalekan Olawusi, 40, were arrested by the police in Providence, Rhode Island after officers responding to the father’s 911 call found the baby critically injured and unconscious.

NBC-affiliated television station for the state of Rhode Island, WJAR, reported on Tuesday that the police have charged Arinola with cruelty and neglect of a child, while Olalekan was charged with first and second-degree child abuse.

Providence’s special assistant district attorney, Shannon Signore, was quoted as saying during the father’s first court appearance Tuesday, “The defendant’s wife indicated that the defendant admitted to biting this baby, and warned him on numerous occasions that pulling the baby’s legs to make him grow and strong was not the correct way of handling the baby.”

WJAR also reported that the Olawusis had another boy who was taken away at birth by the State Department of Children, Youth, and Families. However, it did not give the reason for the move.

In November 2017, Tobi Olawusi, the Providence baby who had been on life support since April when police charged his parents with cruelty and neglect, died at Hasbro Children’s Hospital, authorities confirm.

In 2020, the couple fled the country.

See other news publications of this same story here and here.

Conclusion

The X user recirculated an incident that occurred in 2017 to malign the Yoruba ethnic group in southwest Nigeria.