On October 24, 2026, the All Progressives Congress (APC) held a massive campaign at the Ranchers Bees Stadium in Kaduna State ahead of the 2027 election. Following the event, a social media user, @NuhuSada0, shared images of vandalised APC campaign billboards, claiming that party supporters in Kaduna State were responsible due to unpaid allowances. The post quickly gained traction, accumulating over 496,900 views, 4,300 likes, 1,300 reposts, 268 comments, and 184 bookmarks on X.
The post sparked mixed reactions from users, with many questioning its authenticity and others supporting the claim. Some users, including @Olomu_Aperan, @Chibuzo_Mikel, @Ismaill3360, and @Honeeybuch, expressed skepticism and accused the poster of propaganda. Given the conflicting reactions, Dubawa decided to verify the claim to prevent potential misinformation.
Dubawa conducted a Google reverse image search but found no related information. Instead, they came across similar claims shared on X and Facebook. Upon manual analysis, Dubawa found several inconsistencies in the images, including misspellings, incorrect designations, and unclear text. For example, the name "Bashir Suleiman Zuntu" was misspelled as "Basmir Sulieman Zuntu," and the word "Covernor" was used instead of "Governor."
Further investigation revealed that some words on the billboard were blurry and unclear, raising questions about the image's authenticity. Dubawa also compared the before-and-after images and noticed that the environment and people in the images remained unchanged, suggesting that the event may not have occurred or that the image was altered.
To verify the images, Dubawa used AI verification tools, including Hive Detect and Fake Image Detector. The results showed that the image with the "after" tag had a high percentage of AI-generated visuals, while the one with the "before" tag had a lower percentage. Specifically, Hive Detect's analysis of the "after" image indicated a high likelihood of AI-generated content.
Dubawa also searched for credible media reports on protests in Kaduna over unpaid allowances but found no relevant information. However, they discovered that a protest was held in Kaduna on October 16, 2026, where refinery workers blocked the gate of the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KRPC) for four days over unpaid salaries. This protest was reported by several media outlets, including Advocate Broadcasting Network Television (ADBN) TV, Refinery Intelligence, and New Telegraph.
Based on the findings, Dubawa concluded that the claim of APC supporters in Kaduna State protesting over unpaid wages and destroying APC campaign billboards is false. The images used to support the claim were found to be AI-generated, and no credible evidence was found to support the alleged protest.
Key points
- The images of vandalised APC campaign billboards are AI-generated and do not depict a real event.
- No credible media reports or evidence support the claim of APC supporters protesting over unpaid allowances in Kaduna State.
- The investigation was conducted by Dubawa to verify the claim and prevent potential misinformation.
