Fact Check: Authorities no arrest French pilot for supplying weapons to bandits for Nigeria
Wia dis foto come from, Screen shot
- Author, Chiagozie Nwonwu
- Role, Senior Journalist, Disinformation Unit
- Reporting from, Lagos, Nigeria
BBC Disinformation Unit don confam say dat tori wey say dem arrest one pilot for supplying weapons to bandits for Nigeria na big lie.
Di time and place wey dem actually snap di fotos of di arrest of di alleged pilot arrest, na in 2021 for Bangui, di capital of Central African Republic.
Di story wey don appear for some online news platforms and social media pages and don dey go viral, show French citizen Juan Rémy Quignolot, aftta im arrest for illegal possession of guns for May 2021.
Quignolot appear for plenti fotos togeda with officers of di Central Office for di Suppression of Banditry (OCRB) afta dem arrest am for Bangui with different kind of guns, ammunitions and military equipment.
BBC Disinformation Unit trace di earliest version of di fotos of Quignolot arrest wey dem share for di internet and find out say na Banguiwood Media post am on Facebook around 6:42 pm on May 10, 2021.
One Congolese journalist, Rodriquez Katsuva, also share one of di fotos for im Twitter page on di same day.
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Katsuva tell di BBC Disinformation Unit say in African context, recycling of misinformation for use in anoda kontri, dey very common.
End of Di one wey oda users dey read well well
“Di fact say na almost di same geography, colour and almost di same style of dress, pipo fit easily use fotos with fake caption as coming from different kontes inside Africa,” e tok.
E also tok say dis no be di first time dem dey use information from di Central African Republic for disinformation inside Nigeria.
“I remember di helicopter from one NGO for di Central African Republic wey some pipo use as disinformation for Nigeria and Mali,” e tok.
Di disinformation sourced from di story wey dem dey share for Nigeria state say Quignolot na “helicopter pilot wey dey supply weapons to bandits”.
Di disinformation don go viral and some posts for Facebook get as much as 1600 shares and over 500 comments.
Euro News report on September 9, 2021 say oga Quignolot dey charge with espionage and illegal possession of weapons by di goment of di Central African Republic.
