Fact-Check: Did 19-yr-old Teenager Commit Suicide over Peter Obi’s Loss in the Presidential Election?

Fact-Check: Did 19-yr-old Teenager Commit Suicide over Peter Obi’s Loss in the Presidential Election?

Claim: A claim which emanated on Twitter and is widely circulating on the internet including news and blog post such as Daily Post, The Eagle Online, Correcting, 247ureports among others alleged that a 19 year old young boy from Plateau State committed suicide after Peter Obi lost “rigged election.” 

Full Text: The tweet which has also found its way to WhatsApp has generated 8,410 views and 56 retweets. It shows the image of a young man suspended with a suicide rope around his neck accompanied by the following text. 

“*SAD NEWS: I will tell God INEC killed me, Young Boy from Plateau state commit suicide and dies after Obi lost a rigged election.

“The 19 years old boy left a short note behind which reads “ no hope for Nigeria for the next 20 years after Obi lost the election, I rather end it now than to live in a hell called Nigeria”

“The small boy was part of the people that protested in the sun and rain to market Obi, but got disappointed by INEC that  rigged the Election in the favor of Tinubu.  I’m Heart-broken 😔” 

Verification: An online search by PRNigeria revealed that the claim emanated from a Twitter user @DalapFlourish. 

PRNigeria then ran a reverse image search of the photo that accompanied the claim and results revealed that the photo first emerged online about 7 years ago precisely on 25th December 2016 when it was reported that a 26-year-old suspected internet fraudster identified as Chino  but went by the nickname ‘Yahoo,Yahoo’ committed suicide in Warri, Delta state on the eve of Christmas. 

Residents of the area said they woke up on Christmas day to see his dangling corpse.

Conclusion: Findings by PRNigeria revealed that the image first emerged on the internet about 7 years ago in 2016 when a suspected internet fraudster allegedly committed suicide. 

PRNigeria therefore concludes that the claim that a young 19-year-old boy committed suicide in Plateau State because Peter Obi lost the election is FALSE.

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By PRNigeria