It has now been found that some of the viral photos on social media believed to be photos of victims shot dead at the unfortunate incident at Lekki Tollgate on Tuesday evening, are false.
Some of the victims whose photos are being shared as dead have now come out to debunk the claims and Kemi Filani News brings you a collation of them.
One Steve Abbey whose photo has been shared cried on twitter hours ago saying “This is not the guy on the IG live. This guy is me and you need to take this down immediately. What will you benefit for chasing clout at this trying time? Why pass information.I am alive and well. TAKE THIS DOWN!!….Take this down. Make una no kill me before my time.”
Also debunking viral photos of dead corps members at the Lekki Toll Gate, one Onyinye Francis a corps member and leader of an NYSC drama group claimed the shared photos are from a drama they did on the Is of October, 2020 in NCCF Akwa Ibom state.
“Please ma, she is not dead, it was a drama we acted on Ist October 2020 in NCCF Akwa Ibom state drama night theme Heal our land ooh lord. I can send you the drama presentation, we are safe, she is safe also”
One Kimmie Coco also debunked her viral photo making rounds on social media saying “am alive o !!! Stop posting my picture everywhere with an RIP tag. I wasn’t at any protest, stop spreading fake news…Please I was not at any protest today, not left the house for days.stop the fake news!!! I am very alive I am at home I don’t even understand where the story is coming from but take down the RIP’s”
Another one rumoured to be Samuel David has been debunked. One Micookie Banks first shared a photo of him saying “RIP SAMUEL DAVID history won’t forget you ,guys pls help retweet he lost his life to the massacre yesterday #LekkitollgateMassacre#EndSARSImmediately#endsars“
And many have now confirmed it is a false tweet as the guy in the picture is not even a Nigerian, but a Ghanaian, Kofi based in the UK.
One Osquare also wote “Even my cousin that lives in Lagos died on twitter yesterday, but he’s alive in real life, I just spoke to him. He said he was shocked too to see people writing RIP for him. Nigerian celebrities have embarked on fuelling unending crisis in Nigeria by peddling fake news……It is almost 48hrs since the purported “Lekki massacre” by shooting. We are still waiting for the bodies. All the ones shared on social media so far have turned out to be false, as debunked by the families of those claimed to have been killed in Lekki tollgate. Karma will visit!”
Founder Geneveive Magazine, Betty Irabor also wrote on twitter “Had a brief chat with Ugwu Blessing Ugochukwu whose image with a folded flag at the Enugu protest trended days ago. She denied losing her brothers to SARS. “It’s 100% fake news. I am the victim. I will share my story later.” #StopFakeNews #EndsSARS #StopPoliceBrutality“
Popular TV Presenter Ik Osakioduwa also made some clarifications as regards the fake photos being shared on social media.
Regarding a Lucia, he wrote “Her name is Lucia. And according to a handle on Instagram that posted about her death a day ago, while it is tragic, it was not a result of the shooting at the toll gate. It was from a motorcycle accident on her way home from protesting. #EndSARS.”
In another tweet, he wrote “Apparently The lady and two gentlemen in photo seen across social media allegedly died a day before in a motorcycle accident. I checked her Friend’s page and saw that she posted about it day before yesterday. Check”
It will be recalled that Governor Sanwo olu in a press briefing on Wednesday morning had claimed that no one died in the Lekki Toll gate shooting.
Admitting that soldiers opened fire on #EndSARS protesters at the Lekki toll gate area last night in a bid to disperse them, the Governor disclosed that he is currently engaging the leadership of the Nigerian Army on the development, as the control of military forces was not under his purview.
According to Sanwo Olu, two critically wounded victims had been operated on and were in stable condition while others with “mild to moderate” cases are still receiving treatments at various hospitals in the area.
