Screenshot of the claim on Facebook
Claim: A Facebook post claims that Ebonyi State Governor, Francis Nwifuru, has warned that the state government will begin arresting Ebonyi indigenes involved in street hawking in cities like Lagos and Onitsha ahead of 2026.
Full Text
A Facebook page, Igbo Times Magazine, on December 24, 2025, posted a claim that the Governor of Ebonyi State, Francis Nwifuru, has declared that the state government would start arresting its indigenes hawking on the streets of Lagos and Onitsha ahead of 2026.
Screenshot of the claim on Facebook.
The post further alleged that the Governor described the practice as an embarrassment to the state, adding that those affected would be compelled to return home to learn vocational skills.
As of December 24, 2025, the post had garnered heated criticism against the state government across various social media platforms.
One of the users, Kelechi Ibe, commented, “You (Governor) will prepare to put food on their table while they are learning handwork”.
The claim can also be found here, here, here, here and here.
We fact-checked this claim due to its potential to mislead and cause panic among Ebonyi indigenes living outside the state.
Verification
We conducted a search of official government records and statements from Ebonyi State Government, including the Facebook page of the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Monday Uzor. We found no evidence to support the claim. A keyword search traced the claim to recent social media posts.
Although Governor Francis, in a news report on Vanguard Newspaper, on April 29, 2025, claimed that 99 per cent of street hawkers in Lagos and Onitsha were indigenes of Ebonyi – a claim that cannot be substantiated.
According to Vanguard newspaper, the governor disclosed this during the official flag-off of the Ebonyi State Industrial City in Ezzangbo, Ohaukwu Local Government Area.
Screenshot of the report on Vanguard.
The report further stated that the governor said his administration was committed to bringing those youths back home to empower them with skills and create job opportunities within the state.
Also, a news report shows that the Ebonyi State Government has taken steps to address issues related to hawking and begging, particularly among underage individuals, within the state. One of such is the data capturing of underage beggars and hawkers in Abakaliki metropolis.
However, a directive from the state’s government ordering the arrest of Ebonyi indigenes involved in street hawking in cities like Lagos and Onitsha in 2026 cannot be found.
Conclusion
The claim that Governor Francis Nwifuru will begin to arrest Ebonyi indigenes involved in street hawking in cities like Lagos and Onitsha is misleading.
We found that the Governor had taken steps to end street hawking in Ebonyi through voluntary empowerment and skill acquisition, but we could not find any directive to arrest any Ebonyi State indigene hawking in Lagos or Onitsha.
