The Federal Government has disproved the authenticity of several videos being circulated on social media showing alleged attacks on Nigerians in South Africa.
Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said at a press briefing on Thursday that some ‘unscrupulous’ persons had attempted to misinform Nigerians and stoke emotions through circulation of ‘fake’ news and videos.
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Mr Mohammed identified three such videos.
He said: “One video shows a man who has been set ablaze trying to escape, and those circulating the video identified the man as Nigerian. This is not true. The video shows Mozambican Ernesto Alfabeto Nhamuave, a victim of xenophobic violence in South Africa in 2008, and it is not that of a Nigerian being attacked in 2019.
“Another video shows those said to be Nigerians jumping down from a multi-storey building that was purportedly set on fire by xenophobic attackers in South Africa. This is fake news as the video is that of a Suraj Coaching Centre in Gujarat State, India, that was gutted by fire on May 24, 2019, leaving about 18 people dead.
“The third video, purportedly showing the bodies of Nigerians who were burnt in xenophobic attacks, is the raw footage of those who were killed in a Tanzanian fuel tanker explosion in Morogoro that left at least 60 dead on Aug. 10 2019.”
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Mohammed cautioned that those circulating the videos should desist from doing so immediately, adding that the “videos are also complicating the efforts of the government to calm frayed nerves at home in the wake of the xenophobic attacks in South Africa.”
He said: “Of course you are aware that Nigeria is recalling its High Commissioner to South Africa, in addition to boycotting the World Economic Forum on Africa taking place in South Africa. Government is also ready to evacuate Nigerians willing to return home from South Africa, in addition to other measures being considered to decisively tackle this cankerworm of xenophobic attacks against Nigerians in South Africa.”
The minister also warned against attacks on businesses linked to South Africa in Nigeria.
A special envoy from the Presidency is expected in Pretoria on Thursday to meet with President Cyril Ramaphosa on the attacks.
