CLAIM: A viral image circulating on social media shows President Bola Tinubu shaking hands with activist Omoyele Sowore. Posts accompanying the image allege that Sowore is now working for Tinubu and is being paid to attack opposition figures like Peter Obi and Alex Otti.
BACKGROUND:
Bola Tinubu is the President of Nigeria and national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Omoyele Sowore is a human rights activist, politician, founder of the African Action Congress, and publisher of Sahara Reporters.
One viral caption reads:
“Tomorrow, he will organize another Kanu Protest. See the hypocrite. I informed he’s working for Tinubu & receives a huge sum from him to tarnish Obi & Otti. Here’s the idiot.”
VERIFICATION:
An analysis by the WITHIN NIGERIA team found multiple signs of AI manipulation:
The handshake appears unnatural, with a weak grip and distorted finger positioning.
Skin texture and finger joints are overly smooth, consistent with common artifacts in AI-generated images.
No credible Nigerian media outlet reported any such meeting or collaboration.
Searches across local and national news sources returned no corroborating reports.
Sowore himself addressed the image on Facebook on 7 April 2026, stating:
“The unlikely reactionary coalition working tirelessly to hold Nigeria down has now resorted to deploying these fake AI images in a desperate bid to distort reality.”
He described the images as “manufactured” and called them “not just propaganda but subconscious confessions.”
VERDICT:
Fake. The image of Tinubu and Sowore shaking hands is AI-generated. It is fabricated and misleading.
