Claim
An X user, @AareLatoosa1 shared an image of a traditional ruler arrested for kidnapping and claimed the incident occurred recently.
Verdict
This claim is MISLEADING.
Reports by Credible news organizations confirmed that the incident happened in 2020.
Full Text
For many months now, the banter between the Igbo and Yoruba X users has been a show of shame.
FACTWATCH observed that each of the users from the Igbo or Yoruba tribe usually finds a heinous crime, whether present or in the past by the other ethnic group to malign each other’s tribe.
While responding to a post by X user named Harry, who’s said to come from the Igbo ethnic group, @AareLatoosa1 shared photos and videos of a traditional ruler arrested in Imo state for kidnapping; he claimed this incident happened recently.
@AareLatoosa1 wrote, “The Imo State Police commands has arrested Igwe Eze Andrew Okwuegbunwa of Uba-Agwa in Oguta LG Area of Imo State, his wife, his cousin and his Pastor and 30 others for armed robbery, kidnapping in Imo State.
The post generated over 40k views and more than 200 reposts.
Verification
The result of a keyword search, “Imo Traditional Ruler arrested for kidnapping, “ by this Fact Checker, showed that the incident happened in August 2020.
According to the report here, here and here, a traditional ruler in the Awara community in the Ohaji/Egbema local government area of Imo State, Eze Andrew Okwuegbunwa, and a pastor, Caleb Agu of Umuoni Agwa in Oguta LGA, have been paraded by the State Police Command for alleged involvement in the kidnap and armed robbery activities.
The police also paraded a pastor of the Winners Chapel in Okwudor in Njaba LGA, Joseph Anthony, for the defilement of 11 the 11-year-old daughter of a fellow Pastor.
The Monarch’s gang had kidnapped Louis Obodo at Mgbala Agwa and Inspector Oscar Mbaeri in Agwa in Oguta local government; Chigozirim Nnaji in Egwedu Atta in Njaba local government; Desmond Okonkwo in Oru West local government area; and Anyanwu Amarachi on July 19, 2020, after which the police gave them a hot chase.
When the photo shared by the X user was subjected to Google Lens, it was also discovered that the incident occurred 4 years ago.
Conclusion
The X user recirculated a 2020 incident to respond to the other tribal bigot to continue their online ethnic flights.
