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.
Governor Fubara and the Rivers State House of Assembly have been at loggerheads since 2023 and the Supreme Court of Nigeria ruled late in February that the Governor should represent the budget to the Assembly led by Martins Amaewhule.
Since the judgement, the two arms of government have been playing what analysts described as hide-and-seek game.
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.
The video was searched online using InVID Verification Plugin which is an OSINT tool.
The first source of video can be accessed 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.
According to Sahara Reporters, Governor Siminalayi Fubara, vacated the Government House in Port Harcourt along with his family and security details, sources confirmed on Wednesday.
Daily Trust has reported the same story on Wednesday.
This verification is important in order to douse the tension building up as supporters of the Governor may end up causing crisis over his alleged arrest.
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.
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