Claim: Nigeria has imposed a retaliatory mineral blockade on the United States after the latter’s “travel ban”.
Verdict: False.
Full Text:
On July 2, a Facebook page circulated a video claiming that Nigeria has imposed a mineral blockade on the U.S. after the latter listed Nigeria among other 25 African countries in a fresh visa restrictions list.
Recall that in June, Washington released a statement that citizens from 34 countries will face visa restrictions if their governments fail to “comply with newly established requirements from the US State Department within a 60-day timeframe…”.
Including Nigeria, other countries affected by the visa restrictions are Angola; Antigua and Barbuda; Benin; Bhutan; Burkina Faso; Cabo Verde; Cambodia; Cameroon; Democratic Republic of Congo; Djibouti; Dominica; Ethiopia; Egypt; Gabon; Gambia and Ghana.
Others are Ivory Coast; Kyrgyzstan; Liberia; Malawi; Mauritania; Niger; Nigeria; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Sao Tome and Principe; Senegal; South Sudan; Syria; Tanzania; Tonga; Tuvalu; Uganda; Vanuatu; Zambia; and Zimbabwe.
What this development means is that citizens from affected countries may have to go through a herculean hurdle to travel to the U.S.
After the news spread, the Facebook page shared a 21-minute-long video to inform its 782,000 followers that Nigeria has retaliated by placing a mineral blockade on the U.S.
“Nigeria strike back. They are taking back their mineral resources from the U.S. as I speak to you now, the U.S. has placed a ban on Nigeria”, the page handler said in the first 10 seconds of the video. The man further urged viewers to comment and share as they watch the remaining part of the video.
Nigeria and the U.S. have diplomatic and economic ties, trading in petroleum, gold and other resources.
The trending video has attracted attention online. So far, more than 2,500 Facebook users have reacted to the video.
Verification:
Ripples Nigeria had reported that the Nigerian government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has urged the U.S. to reconsider visa restrictions on the country.
In a statement issued in Abuja by the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Kimebi Ebienfa, the federal government described the policy as “unfair and disproportionate.”
Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs X handle
The 4-paragraph statement was released on July 9 –seven days after the Facebook video was posted.
Ripples Nigeria reports that the statement does not contain any threat of mineral blockade on the U.S.
A review of the Facebook page spreading the disinformation reveals that the page was first created in 2015, managed by people based in Nigeria but has its address as “15 Barker Street, Bobalong, WA, Australia.”
While working on the claim, Ripples Nigeria reports that the Nigerian government debunked a similar viral claim. Contrary to viral claims, the presidency said it has not stopped the issuance of five-year multiple-entry visas to United States nationals.
Conclusion:
Nigeria has not imposed mineral blockade on the U.S. as social media claim suggests. Also, the
U.S. government has only released a statement on visa restrictions and not visa ban.
The Nigerian government has also debunked claims it has stopped the issuance of five-year multiple-entry visas to United States nationals.
The post FACT-CHECK: Did Nigeria impose mineral blockade” after U.S. ‘travel ban’ as Facebook page claims? appeared first on Latest Nigeria News | Top Stories from Ripples Nigeria.
