It has been confirmed that most of the news websites that carried the fictitious story about former Governor of Lagos state, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s, supposed ‘sudden illness’  did not do any kind of follow up check on the story before publishing.

Earlier today, the story of Tinubu having a stroke and being rushed to a hospital in London appeared on certain websites. None of the stories carried eyewitness accounts nor confirmation from any of the former governor’s associates or relations. When Citizen Confidential called sources within the Tinubu camp, we were told the story was untrue.

“In fact, we were shocked that the false news on Twitter and Facebook was of Asiwaju’s ‘sickness’,” a source said. “This is a man I still spoke to this morning and he was fine. He’s in London at the moment and will be back soon.”

Tinubu: news bloggers go viral over rumours of ill-health

Another source said, “It is a shame what citizens journalists are doing to the noble profession of journalism. There should be room for fact-checking and research. It costs little to investigate stories like this. It is wrong and unfair. Asiwaju is hale and hearty.”

To buttress their points, our sources directed us to the Facebook and Twitter accounts of the Media Adviser to Bola Tinubu, Mr. Sunday Dare. On Facebook, Mr. Dare posted, “I find the idle chatter on some online sites about the alleged ill health of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu amusing. That some idle minds have continued to perpetuate this absolute falsehood to the point of the ridiculous is disgusting. They deserve our prayers for wishing what is not on someone else. For the records , Tinubu is in great shape and his associates who see him and speak with him know this. I have been with him in the past three weeks and only returned to Nigeria on some assignments. He is in London helping APC spread the word about its mission of change. He returns to the country soon and those that wish him dead will be put to shame.”

When Citizen Confidential called the editors of some of the websites to confirm if they indeed confirmed the story before publishing, we were given the run around. A call to the contact number provided by 247ureports.com was disconnected when we asked if they performed any investigation of the matter. The man on the other line complained of poor network and rang off.

A tweet by Mr. Dare read: “Gov. Tinubu is in great health. The news online is fictitious. Outright falsehood. A lie from the pit of hell. The story injures journalism.”

None of the websites involved have countered Mr. Dare nor offered proof of their stories.
Rumours about Tinubu’s ill-health began a few days after he left Nigeria for California. Some reports even said he was ‘rushed’ out of Nigeria in an air ambulance.