On July 30, a post on a website claimed that Lai Mohammed, minister of information, said Nigeria does not have “fuel to fly” Abba Kyari, a deputy commissioner of police, to the United States (US).
A screenshot of the post was shared on social media, as some insinuated that the federal government is trying to shield Kyari from facing trial in the US for allegedly receiving a bribe from Hushpuppi, the embattled Nigerian socialite.
The post was shared on the Facebook page of the website which has 176,29 followers. The post has also gathered over 285 reactions, 98 comments and 99 shares.
“An old man who ought to live by example is now fueling trouble in the Country. I want you to know that God Who is The Judge of all, and Who is in Control of the whole Universe will judge you,” a Facebook user wrote under the post.
VERIFICATION
To begin with, a visit to the website shows that the post only has a headline without a story. There is no text containing details of the claim. It was also observed that most of the news articles on the website only have headlines without a story.
The website has other misleading headlines like: “I don’t know who is Abba, is he an Igbo man criminal — Buhari asked” and “Abba missing, Facebook page deleted, whereabouts unknown, after FBI saga”.
Results of an internet search show that the minister did not make such a claim through a social media post, press statement or in any public forum. It was not reported by any credible media platform or published on media channels used by the ministry of information.
VERDICT
The claim that Lai Mohammed said Nigeria does not have “fuel to fly” Kyari to the US is false. The minister has not made any comment on the issue publicly.
