Did Buhari Say Customers’ Deposits Will be Used to Repay Loans?

CLAIM: Buhari said that bank customers deposit will be used to repay loans.

VERDICT: False

CONTEXT: A post has been trending on social media, especially Facebook, insinuating that President Muhammadu Buhari will utilise monies in customers’ bank accounts to repay Nigeria’s multilateral and local loans. The post, which is also circulating on WhatsApp, purportedly came from the Hausa service of the British Broadcasting Commission (BBC Hausa) verified handle on Facebook. A direct translation of the post is: “We will use monies in people’s bank accounts to pay the debts Nigeria is owing,”

VERIFICATION:  In verifying the post, we first tried to establish if the particular verified Facebook account actually belongs to the BBC Hausa Service. Daily Trust also subjected the post and account to verification and was able to establish that the post was doctored

It was further observed that BBC Hausa has a unique style of embedding its quotes and attributions, which is missing in the alleged quote from President Buhari. Subsequently, the fact checkers reached out to an official at the BBC Hausa Service who dismissed the post saying, “It did not emanate from the international media organization.”

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) is charged with the responsibility of making sure that every deposit liability of every bank in Nigeria is insured and licensed.

Sections 16, and 20 of the NDIC Act ensure the safety of deposits and soundness of insured financial institutions provided they operate in the country. Therefore, it is not possible for the federal government to take insured customers’ deposits from their bank accounts to pay loans.

CONCLUSION: We can confirm that the post never originated from the BBC official handle and it is legally impossible for the federal government to take insured customers’ deposits from their bank accounts to pay loans.