Media Police
Truth Watch is a public interest column dedicated to exposing false claims, spotlighting ethical concerns in journalism, and equipping the public with tools to navigate today’s fast-changing information landscape.
The feature is part of a wider effort to strengthen truth and accountability in media.
Top false claims of the week
Nigeria crowned Africa’s most educated country. A wish, not a reality?
The claim first appeared as a colourful chart making the rounds on WhatsApp: “Nigeria is Africa’s Most Educated Country.” The message spread fast. Uncles shared it proudly with captions like “We dey lead at last!” Aunties turned it into their status.
Soon it moved from WhatsApp to Facebook and X, gathering likes and cheers. For a while, it felt like Nigeria had been crowned number one through a phone screen.
But the numbers in that meme had no basis in reality. Fact-checkers at Dubawa and FactCheckAfrica found that no credible source—UNESCO, the African Union, or the World Bank—had ever published such a ranking. In truth, Nigeria’s literacy rate is about 62 percent, well behind countries like South Africa, Kenya, and Seychelles, where literacy is in the 80s and 90s. On years of schooling and enrolment too, Nigeria trails far behind.
So why did so many people believe it? Because it felt good. Nigerians abroad often excel in schools and careers, building a reputation for brilliance. That personal experience made the claim sound believable. And in a country where bad news dominates, a burst of good news, even fake good news, can be irresistible.
This is not new. In 2021, a viral post declared Nigeria home to the world’s most beautiful women. In 2023, another claimed Nigeria was the “happiest country in Africa.” Both were false, but both spread quickly because they fed national pride.
The real danger is that these sweet-sounding lies can be harmful. Nigeria still has 10.5 million children out of school. Public universities are often shut by strikes. Celebrating a fake ranking may feel harmless, but it distracts us from the urgent work of fixing our education system.
Media ethics spotlight
The post the government Is trying to erase
On September 3, 2025, activist and publisher Omoyele Sowore is notified by X, the platform still widely called Twitter, that Nigeria’s secret police, the Department of State Services (DSS), is demanding that one of his posts be removed.
The post is blunt: Sowore calls President Bola Tinubu a “criminal” for declaring that corruption no longer exists in Nigeria. The DSS is furious. It brands the tweet as hate speech and a threat to national security, giving X just 24 hours to delete it.
But Sowore is refusing to back down. The very next day he posted again, insisting he would not delete it and describing the DSS request as “despicable.” His lawyers are standing with him, writing to X’s legal team that the DSS has no legal authority to silence a citizen’s opinion.
Amnesty International and other rights groups are weighing in, warning that this is not just about Sowore but about whether Nigerians can speak freely without being censored by force.
The law at the centre of this drama is the Cybercrime Act. First passed in 2015 to tackle online fraud, it is now being stretched far beyond its original purpose. The 2024 amendments are giving security agencies even more sweeping powers.
They can intercept calls and online messages without court approval, and telecom companies are forced to store citizens’ data for access. Instead of being a shield against fraudsters, the law is turning into a sword against critics.
The Sowore case is not happening in isolation. In May 2024, investigative journalist Daniel Ojukwu was picked up and held for over a week without trial after exposing a corruption scandal.
In December, writer and lawyer Dele Farotimi is arrested for “cyberbullying” after criticising the judiciary, his bail set at fifty million naira. Others like Luka Binniyat and Agba Jalingo have also faced lengthy detentions, all under the same law. None of them are hackers or scammers—their “offence” is speaking out.
Civil society is pushing back. In May 2025, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) are demanding reforms, describing the amended Act as a “sledgehammer against dissent.”
They highlight cases where journalists are moved across states without warrants, detained without knowing their accusers, and kept longer than the constitution allows. Editorial boards are also adding their voices. Punch warns that the law is now being used to suffocate dissent, while international press freedom rankings continue to show Nigeria sliding further down the table.
The numbers keep climbing. Since 2015, at least twenty-five journalists have faced prosecution under the Cybercrime Act, and the trend is not slowing. Sowore’s case shows how deep the problem runs. If one tweet can be treated as a crime, then anyone’s voice can be silenced.
Nigeria already has laws for libel and defamation. What it does not need is a cybercrime law that punishes criticism like a crime.
Until Section 24 is rewritten and unchecked surveillance powers are curbed, the Cybercrime Act is not protecting citizens. It is being used to silence them. And when citizens cannot speak freely, democracy itself is under attack.
Tool of the week
Media literacy workshops prepared Lagos youth for July 2025 elections
From July 1–3, 2025, 14 youth-led organisations partnered with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Media and Information Literacy and Intercultural Dialogue (MILID) Foundation to train over 250 young voters in Lagos on recognising and resisting misinformation.
Participants practiced verifying images, questioning viral claims, and cross-checking updates with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Surveys showed 70 percent felt more confident spotting false content, and on election day, trainees used WhatsApp groups and local-language infographics to spread accurate information.
The UNESCO called the workshops “a critical investment in Nigeria’s democratic culture,” and organisers confirmed similar programmes are planned in Anambra and Kano. The Lagos training proved how even small groups, once empowered, can help protect communities against election misinformation.
Quote of the week
“A hungry journalist is a dangerous person.”
— Dora Nkem Akunyili, former Minister of Information and Communications of Nigeria (2008–2010)
