No evidence Nigerian president Bola Tinubu plans to deport US citizens or ban US-made phones
IN SHORT: According to a screenshot of an X post circulating on social media in Nigeria, the Nigerian president has begun deporting 700 US citizens and banned US-manufactured phones. But Africa Check found no evidence to support these claims.
Nigerian president Bola Tinubu has begun the process of deporting 700 US citizens living in Nigeria and banned the use of US-made phones. That's according to a screenshot of an X post doing the rounds online in Nigeria.
The post says Tinubu's actions are in retaliation to US president Donald Trump's tough stance against immigrants.
The X post in the screenshot was published on 25 January 2025 by an account called Celebrity Blogger. While it appears that the post has been deleted, screenshots of it continue to circulate.
They can be found here and here. (Note: See more instances at the end of this report.)
Since his inauguration on 20 January, Trump has signed several executive orders to support his mass deportation plans. An executive order is a legislative tool which allows a US president to issue legally binding orders to the federal government.
A document from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) shows that over 1.4 million people, including 3,690 Nigerians, face deportation from the US. ICE is an agency that imposes federal laws governing border control, customs, trade and immigration.
But has Tinubu in turn begun deportation processes for US citizens and banned US-made mobile phones in Nigeria? We checked.
No evidence to support the claims
Africa Check found no credible news reports of Tinubu deporting US citizens or banning the use of US-made phones. Such developments would have caught the attention of the media worldwide.
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The account that initially made the claim on X did not provide sources. This is a major red flag.
The Nigerian government told the media that by 17 February, there were 201 Nigerians in US immigration camps, with 85 already cleared for deportation.
On 18 February, the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) arrested 40 illegal immigrants in Oyo state. The group included 27 Cameroonians, two Ghanaians, 10 Beninoise, and one Togolese.
There has been no statement from the Nigerian government or the NIS on US citizens in the country illegally.
There is also no evidence to support the claim that Tinubu has banned US-made phones.
The screenshot also appeared here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
