Election: Bomb Blast Near INEC Road in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State? Here’s What We Know
- Bayelsans go to the poll in an off-cycle election, today, Saturday, November 11, to elect their governor
- The election is conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the electoral body which oversees elections in Nigeria
- Claims emerged online about the occurrence of a bomb blast near INEC road in Yenagoa, Bayelsa, Legit.ng fact-checked it
Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 6-year-experience covering politics in Nigeria
Yenagoa, Bayelsa state - Morris Monye, a chieftain of the Labour Party (LP), put up a tweet on his verified X (formerly Twitter) handle that Arise Television reported a bomb blast near Yenagoa, Bayelsa state.
The said bomb blast 'happened at INEC road', Kpansia town — according to Monye and other social media users circulating the claim.
Source: Getty Images
Monye, who has over 358, 000 followers, wrote on Friday, November 10:
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"Bomb blast near INEC road in Yenagoa, Bayelsa as reported by Arise TV.
"Two other explosives detonated in two individuals' compound.
"Tomorrow na tomorrow o."
The post has been viewed by 130,000+ people and has been reposted by more than 920 X users.
The claim, which comes on the eve of the 2023 Bayelsa state gubernatorial election has been republished by different social media users on X and Facebook, as seen here and here.
But is this true? Legit.ng checked.
No evidence bomb blast happened in Bayelsa
If a tragedy of such magnitude truly happened, it would have made the news after more than 20 hours.
Legit.ng also checked Arise TV channels which Monye said is the source of the 'news'; nothing of such was found.
There would also have been at least pictorial evidence online by this time.
The closest Legit.ng found was the story of an explosive thrown at a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain's home in Yenagoa on Tuesday, November 7.
Suspected political thugs attacked the residence of the PDP stalwart, Diekivie Ikiogha, in Kpansia area, as reported by The Punch.
They were said to have thrown an explosive believed to be dynamite into the building around 2 am.
No one was injured in the incident at Ikiogha’s house.
Conclusion
There is no evidence bomb blast happened near INEC road in Yenagoa, Bayelsa, "as reported by Arise TV".
Bayelsa: Meet the 2 female governorship candidates
Earlier, Legit.ng spotlighted the two women vying for the top job in Bayelsa state.
The two women are regarded as underdogs in the contest.
Source: Legit.ng
