On May 16, a viral image began to circulate on social media, even on some of the prominent newspapers showing a Nigerian lawmaker, the Senator representing Borno Central, Kaka Shehu Lawan, seated beside a table laden with cash.
This has raised widespread claims that the politician disbursed ₦135,650,000 to constituents and party executives for the Sallah celebration.\The claim, which has gained traction across X with 23k views, Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, and other platforms, suggests that the funds were distributed in cash as part of festive support. The viral image sparked different narrations
Claim
“JUST IN: The Senator representing Borno
“Central, Kaka Lawan, has disbursed one hundred and thirty-five million, six hundred and fifty thousand naira (#135,650,000) in cash to All Progressives Congress executives in his constituency ahead of the Eid-el-Kabir celebration..”
“Senator Kaka Shehu Lawan (SAN) has released ₦135.65 million as Sallah support for All Progressives Congress (APC) executives across Borno Central Senatorial District ahead of the Eid Kabir celebration.”
Verification:
We began our verification with Google reverse image to find out if any credible media outlet published this claim.
The Punch, with a headline, said ‘Borno senator disburses ₦135m to APC executives for Salla’.
“The Senator representing Borno Central, Kaka Lawan, has disbursed one hundred and thirty-five million, six hundred and fifty thousand naira (₦135,650,000) to All Progressives Congress executives in his constituency ahead of the Eid-el-Kabir celebration.
According to the Punch report, the lawmaker’s spokesperson, Usman Alkali, in a statement shared on his Facebook page on Friday, said “the gesture marked the third time Lawan had made such a donation since he joined the National Assembly”.
Also, the Daily Trust with the narration Senator Kaka Shehu Lawan, an All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmaker from Borno State, has donated ₦135 million to executive members of the ruling party in his constituency.
“The lawmaker said the monetary donation is meant for the celebration of the forthcoming Eid-el-Kabir.
“Usman Alkali, an aide to the lawmaker, confirmed the donation in a post on his Facebook wall”, the publisher wrote.
The publications showed that the claim appeared to have originated from posts attributed to an aide of the lawmaker, which were subsequently picked up by some online news platforms.
The claims indicate that the sum of ₦135.65 million was allegedly shared among party stakeholders ahead of the Eid-el-Kabir celebration.
However, a critical component of the claim, the viral image showing physical cash displayed on a table, has not been verified.
There is currently no confirmed evidence establishing:
When and where the image was taken
Whether the money displayed corresponds to the claimed sum of ₦135.65 million.
Whether the image is directly linked to the alleged Sallah disbursement.
Also, we used fotoForensics to check the authenticity of the image and it showed possible AI smoothing.
Likewise, using TinEye we couldn’t get the exact source of the image.
As part of due diligence, we reached out to the lawmaker, through his legislative aide, Mr Mbusube Modu, who said: “It’s Not true”.
Conclusion
However, for clarification regarding the claims, the following are very crucial.
The authenticity of the viral image is not true.
The accuracy of the reported cash disbursement was true, but a stipulated amount wasn’t mentioned.
While there are media reports supporting the claim that funds were distributed, the viral image used to amplify the story is misleading.
Using reverse image search (Google Lens, TinEye and FotoForensics), it appears that the image has been manipulated to misinform the public or propagate a narrative, even if they are real photos.
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