Fact Check: Did Nigerians protest at Chicago State University over Tinubu's certificate?

A Facebook user, Ọlájídé Kọngọ Ọrọ Ọláyẹmí, claimed Nigerians living in diaspora held a peaceful protest over President Bola Tinubu's certificate at the Chicago State University (CSU) in the US.

The post, which was first shared on August 30, 2023, included a hashtag calling for the "disqualification" of Tinubu as Nigeria's president.

No evidence of protest against Tinubu

As reported earlier, the two major opposition parties, Atiku Abubakar (PDP) and Peter Obi (LP) challenged President Tinubu’s victory in the 2023 election in court.

The accompanying image of the purported protest showed a group of demonstrators with a sizable banner that reads “Nigeria's democracy under siege”.

Olayemi's post reads in full: "BREAKING: Peaceful protest at the Chicago State University by Nigerians living in the US. #ChicagoStateUniversity #TinubuMUSTbeDisqualified."

Fake News

According to checks from legit, there has been no report of a protest by Nigerians in Chicago city by any reliable media house.

Legit also carried out a reverse image search for the photo of the demonstrators and discovered that it was from a protest in early April 2023.

At the time, Obidients, a sobriquet for supporters of Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), staged a protest at the White House and Capitol Hill — both in Washington, DC, USA.

The demonstrators were displeased with the Independent National Electoral Commission's (INEC's) declaration of Tinubu as the winner of the 2023 presidential election.

Therefore, the viral claim is not true. No evidence that showed such a protest held at Chicago State University.