Popular news channel, Arise TV, has tendered an apology to the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, for reporting a false story regarding a purported criminal forfeiture case in the United States.
What really happened: A press statement dated Friday, November 11, 2022 and purportedly written by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had surfaced online at the start of the weekend, in which it was stated that the electoral body had begun investigation to ascertain whether there was a criminal indictment against Tinubu in the U.S.
The misleading statement, attributed to the National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, claimed INEC was liaising with the Northern Illinois District Court in the United States to establish facts about the case before taking a decision.
Arise TV runs with the story: Meanwhile, in an apparent neglect of the need for vetting and due diligence, Arise TV reported the fake news during one of its programmes anchored by veteran reporter, Sumner Sambo.
This may have caught the attention of INEC who immediately issued a statement on Saturday, November 12, 2022, to disown the fake press statement, describing it as a creation of mischief makers.
INEC’s statement read: “A press release purported to have been issued by the commission has been trending online since Friday, November 11, 2022. It claims that the commission has commenced an investigation into a case of criminal forfeiture against one of the presidential candidates in the forthcoming general election and is liaising with a court in the United States of America in pursuit of the same to determine a possible violation of our guidelines or the Electoral Act 2022.
“We wish to state categorically that the said press release did not emanate from the commission nor is it pursuing the purported course of action. It is the handiwork of mischief makers and utterly fake.
“Press releases from the commission are uploaded to the INEC press corps platform and simultaneously disseminated through our website and official social media handles.”
Arise TV apologises: Quoting the INEC denial statement, the TV station apologised to Tinubu in a subsequent broadcast.
Arise TV’s apology: “…Arise News had carried the news which has now been denied by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and we apologise most sincerely to the All Progressives Congress, presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for the earlier broadcast.”
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