COLUMNIST
ON PICTURES WRONGLY ATTRIBUTED TO HIS EXCELLENCY, UDOM EMMANUEL, CON
ON PICTURES WRONGLY ATTRIBUTED TO HIS EXCELLENCY, UDOM EMMANUEL, CON
By Aniekeme Finbarr
I have noticed the circulation on social media of photographs of buildings being presented as properties allegedly belonging to the former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, His Excellency, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, CON.
For the sake of accuracy and to prevent unsuspecting members of the public from being misled, I decided to trace the photographs to their original or earlier published sources.
The findings are revealing.
1. THE FIRST PHOTOGRAPH: A PROPERTY ASSOCIATED WITH MUSILIU OBANIKORO , NOT UDOM EMMANUEL
The first photograph is not a photograph of a property belonging to former Governor Udom Emmanuel.
A clear and verifiable source for the image is a PUNCH newspaper report published on November 25, 2018, titled “Obanikoro, wife, son recover N500m houses, land from EFCC.”
The report expressly identifies the building pictured as one of the houses of former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, following the recovery of the property from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The report further states that the properties included four terrace houses at 44 Mamman Kotangora Crescent, Katamkpe Extension, Abuja, and notes that the buildings had previously carried the inscription “EFCC, Keep Off!” (Punch Newspapers)
The same photograph was subsequently reproduced on Nairaland and other Nigerian news platforms, including Tori and Ripples Nigeria, with the accompanying reports consistently identifying the property in connection with Obanikoro. (Nairaland)
https://www.nairaland.com/4865835/obanikoro-wife-son-recover-n500m
The architectural features of the photograph being circulated , including the distinctive terrace arrangement, balconies, stone-clad sections and general façade , correspond with the image published in those reports.
The evidence therefore establishes that the first photograph has been wrongly attributed to Udom Emmanuel.
2. THE SECOND PHOTOGRAPH: AN EFCC PROPERTY IMAGE LINKED TO THE OSASOGIE CASE
The second photograph also appears to have been lifted from an entirely different EFCC-related property story and has no established connection, from the sources traced, to former Governor Udom Emmanuel.
A strong source trail leads to an EFCC recovery and handover operation involving Michael Obasuyi Osasogie in November 2018.
According to a report published by PRNigeria on November 28, 2018, the EFCC handed over 116 vehicles and 20 landed properties recovered from Osasogie to First Bank Plc. The properties were reported to be located in Lagos, Abuja, Benin and Port Harcourt. (PRNigeria News)
Executive Cybercrime: EFCC Recovers 116 Cars, 20 Properties from Osasogie
PUNCH independently reported the same development on November 29, 2018, stating that the properties were recovered from Osasogie and that the handover ceremony took place at one of the forfeited houses in Osapa London, Lekki, Lagos. (Punch Newspapers)
CKN Nigeria also published the story and identified the properties as those recovered from Michael Obasuyi Osasogie. (CKN News)
https://www.cknnigeria.com/2018/11/efcc-hands-over-116-cars-20-landed.html
Photographs associated with that EFCC operation show buildings bearing EFCC markings and personnel at the properties. The visual trail provides a strong indication that the second photograph being circulated belongs to this older EFCC property-recovery story rather than to any documented property of Udom Emmanuel.
WHY THIS MATTERS
Photographs carry enormous persuasive power, particularly on social media. Once a photograph is detached from its original caption and source and subsequently presented alongside the name of another person, it can create a completely false impression.
That is why photographs should not be treated as evidence merely because they are circulated repeatedly online.
In this instance, the available documentary trail provides a very different history for the photographs being circulated.
I therefore urge members of the public, journalists, bloggers and social-media users to exercise basic verification before sharing such materials or attaching the names of individuals to properties pictured in them.
For clarity: the photographs traced above should not be presented as photographs of properties belonging to former Governor Udom Emmanuel.
I have no intention of joining issues with anyone, nor do I speak on behalf of the former Governor. I have simply taken the time to trace the images because misinformation can unfairly damage a person’s reputation, particularly when old photographs are deliberately or carelessly presented as something they are not.
His Excellency, Udom Emmanuel will not respond to funny people as always. But as his son, I’m intervening to help innocent members of the public.