Fact-Check: Did Peter Obi’s Son Step on Nigerian Flag while wearing IPOB Shirt?
Claim: A tweet containing a picture of a young man wearing Biafran T-Shirt and stepping on the Nigerian flag has gone viral with the claim that it was Peter Obi’s son.
Full Text: The photograph shows a fair complexioned, young man wearing a T-shirt that depicts the Biafran colour while stepping on a Nigerian flag.
Some social media users claim that the person in the photograph was the son of Presidential candidate of Labour Party, Peter Obi.
One of the posts states thus: “this is Peter Obi’s son, the IPOB in them is further confirmed in the clothes wear and marching on our green white green flag and the same father is campaigning to rule Nigeria?”
Another tweet with the same photo was captioned, “In this Picture is Gregory Peter Oseloka Obi, Mr. Peter Obi’s son with IPOB’s clothes on, standing on the NIGERIA national flag & someone want me to believe it’s not ipob/ubm sponsoring peter obi to scatter Nigeria, set it on fire (sic).”
The picture has been shared by many people with similar captions on the Social Media.
Mr Obi, a former Governor of Anambra State is the Presidential flagbearer of the Labour Party in the forthcoming general elections.
Verification: PRNigeria extracted the image of the vehicle in the background and ran a reverse image search of it. Result of the investigation revealed that the vehicle belongs to the German Police. Other associated images with the same painting style is linked to the German Police which proves that the image was taken in Germany while Mr. Peter Obi’s Son, Oseloka Obi is known to be based in London.
Other keyword search result revealed that the claim has been debunked here
Similarly, Peter Obi, Presidential Candidate of Labour Party, has distanced his son from the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
During an interview on Arise TV on Wednesday, Obi said his son is a responsible man who is “consumed by his work in London”.
He said, “On the issue of my son, that guy is not my son. My son is a professional who is consumed by his work. Let me tell you something, I just came back from London. I couldn’t even see my son. He is consumed by his work. He tells me, ‘Dad, how are you? How is politics? How is you campaign? I like what you are doing.
“If I showed you the texts I exchange with my son, you will see my son telling me ‘Listen dad, I don’t have time for this.’
“I couldn’t see my son because he was busy doing what he is doing. So, he doesn’t have time for that. My son lives in the UK. And I can pay any amount to anybody who can prove and say that was my son.”
Also, Mr Doyin Okupe, Director General of Peter Obi’s campaign organization made a tweet to debunk the claim, stating that “This is not Peter Obi’s son…”
Also, Peter Obi’s media office responded to the viral tweet which reads in part, “We wish to state that the said young man is not Mr. Peter Obi’s son, who, by his strict upbringing marked by rigorous discipline, understands what civic duty and responsibilities entail.”
The statement further stated that “Mr. Oseloka Obi is about six feet and taller than his father; while the young man they used for the mischief is slightly above 5 feet.
“The Peter Obi Media office calls on those seeking elective posts and their supporters to always be guided by the right ethics at all times.”
Conclusion: There is no evidence to prove that the unidentified IPOB activist stepping on the Nigerian flag while robed in the colors of the Biafran flag is Mr Peter Obi’s son. PRNigeria’s investigation revealed that the post is misleading.
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