Ignore Facebook posts claiming Nigerian government is giving out 'N100,000 Loan for Every Nigerian Citizen'

IN SHORT: Scammers are taking advantage of the vulnerability of innocent Nigerians. Be warned, the claim that the Nigerian government is offering a N100,000 loan to all citizens is false.

A graphic circulating on Facebook in Nigeria asks "every Nigerian citizen" to apply for a N100,000 loan from the Nigerian government.

It features a photo of Oluremi Tinubu, who is married to Nigeria's president Bola Tinubu, and logos of multiple banks operating in the country.

We found the same graphic posted here and here. The posts encourage users to click on the attached link to apply. (Note: See more instances listed at the end of this report.)

But is this loan offer legit? We checked.

No such grant

The link in the Facebook posts led us to a website about "US Visa sponsorship." The website made no mention of the loan or the Nigerian government, which is a major red flag.

If the loan were legitimate, the posts would have links to a government website where users could get more information and legitimately apply.

The graphic also features what appears to be an application form requesting the user's full name, account number and phone number. Such information should not be shared with strangers, as they can use it to commit identity theft or fraud.

We searched the first lady's official website and X (formerly Twitter) accounts. We found no announcement of a "N100,000 Loan Disbursement for Every Nigerian Citizen".

We also typed in keywords from the graphic in our search engine. We still did not find anything related to the alleged N100,000 loan from the federal government.

All signs point to scam posts that Nigerians should ignore.

To protect yourself, read our guide to Facebook scams and how to spot them.

The same claim has been posted here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.