Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) has denied reports of its Director General, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, bailing Peter Obi out of the detention of the Immigration Authorities in the United Kingdom.

Development Diaries reports that Obi, who was the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in Nigeria’s 2023 election, was briefly detained at Heathrow Airport over a mistaken identity during his trip to celebrate Easter in the country.

A photoshopped photograph circulating on social media indicated that the NIDCOM boss had intervened in Obi’s detention.

Special Assistant on Digital Communications to President Muhammadu Buhari, Bashir Ahmed, made a post about this on his Twitter handle.

He wrote, ‘I heard Aunty @AbikeDabiri has done it for the compatriot that needed her intervention in the UK. God bless you and the services you have been rendering for our countrymen and women, especially this recent one, ma’am!’

I heard Aunty @AbikeDabiri has done it for the Compatriot that needed her intervention in the UK. God bless you and the services you have been rendering for our countrymen and women, especially this recent one, ma’am!

— Bashir Ahmad (@BashirAhmaad) April 13, 2023

What is particularly worrying about this recent incident is that a government appointee, someone who ought to be in a position of authority with regard to information sharing, is the person spreading misinformation.

Shouldn’t information be vetted before they are shared on social media?

The Head of Media/Public Relations and Protocols at NIDCOM, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, had to put out a statement, saying her boss, Dabiri-Erewa, is not in the UK and not in a position to secure the release of any Nigerian suspected under UK interrogation.

He also urged members of the public to disregard the information in its entirety.

Section 15, subsection one of Nigeria’s Cyber Crime Act 2015 provides that anyone found deliberately sharing communication with an intent to cause annoyance, inconvenience or anxiety to another is liable to a fine of N2,000,000 or imprisonment.

Therefore, President Buhari’s media aide, Ahmad, and other Nigerians spreading that piece of misinformation are liable to a fine of N2,000,000 or imprisonment.

Development Diaries reiterates its call to Nigerians to always verify content on social media before sharing them.