Claim: Federal Government has arrested Suspended Rivers State Governor, Sir Similalayi Fubara for disobeying Tinubu
Verdict: False. The video attached which has also been seen on WhatsApp platforms, is a video of when the Rivers State House of Assembly was burnt.
Full Text
The political crisis in Rivers State reached a crescendo on Tuesday, March 18, 2025 as President Bola Tinubu declared State of Emergency in the state.
The President also directed immediate suspension of the State Governor, Sir Similalayi Fubara, his Deputy, Mrs Ngozi Odu and the State House of Assembly. He nominated former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibot-Ete Ibas as the administrator.
Against this background, a Nigerian Facebook user with the handle Agozi Commedy posted in the early hours of Wednesday, March 19, 2025 that Federal Government has ordered arrest of Governor Fubara.
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/168yXmeewG/
Attaching a video, the Facebook user wrote; “Breaking News : federal government have just arrested River state Governor SIM Fubara for disobeying President Tinubu Asiwaju.’
Within five hours of posting it, the post has attracted over 4,000 like and over 1,000 shares. It has even been shared on WhatsApp as shown in the picture.
To forestall spreading of the video, InsightChecks decided to verify the claim.
Verification
InsightChecks did a search for the video and it was found out that the video attached was during the governor’s inspection to the burnt Rivers State House of Assembly complex. It can be found here.
More so, credible news outlets reported on Wednesday afternoon that Governor Fubara was sighted leaving the Government House to allow the administrator to take over.
Conclusion
The claim that Governor Similalayi Fubara was arrested by the federal government for disobeying President Bola Tinubu is false. The attached video happened in October 2023.
This verification has been produced with support from BO Foundation for Inclusive Media (BOFIM) and WITNESS.
