A recent social media post alleging the poor state of a public school in Lagos, Nigeria, has been found to be misleading by AFP Fact Check.

The post, shared by a supporter of opposition leader Peter Obi, used old photos that do not accurately represent the current condition of the school.

The post, which garnered over 1,400 shares and comments, claimed to show the current state of Eric Moore Junior High School in Surulere, Lagos.

However, AFP Fact Check discovered that the photos were taken in 2017 and 2019, and the school has since been renovated by the state government.

Comments on the post expressed dismay at the supposed lack of improvement in the school’s condition, with users calling the images “an eyesore” and expressing disappointment.

The photos were shared by a Nigerian-based account named “Ejikeme,” known for posting content supporting the Igbo ethnic group and Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in 2023.

The account often shares images of run-down schools in Lagos in response to trending topics like the #TinubuLagosSchoolSeries.

The hashtag which began trending last month after opposition politician Reno Omokri accused Obi of not building any schools when he was the governor of Anambra state in southeast Nigeria.

He promised to gift US$10,000 to anyone who could prove otherwise.

Omokri insisted that Tinubu, who beat Obi in the elections, was a better candidate (archived here and here).

Dear Chris,

Thank you for your feedback. You that joined Peter Obi to build Anambra. Can you name one school your Peter Obi built in eight years as Governor? Just one. $10,000 for you if you can.

I became a resident of California in 1983 at the age of nine. I returned to…
pic.twitter.com/GgEU1GHzbx

— Reno Omokri (@renoomokri)
December 14, 2023

In response, Obi supporters began sharing posts highlighting the decaying public infrastructure in Lagos, where Tinubu was a governor between 1999 and 2007

However, the claim made in the post about Eric Moore Junior High School is inaccurate. The first three pictures were taken from a 2017 article by The Guardian, which reported on the poor conditions of the school at the time.

Two years later, former Lagos Health Commissioner Akin Abayomi attended a ceremony to commission renovated classrooms and toilets at the school.

Happening now!

Commissioning of Rehabilitated Four(4) Class Room Block and Toilet Facility at Eric Moore Junior High School, Surulere by the Governor of Lagos State ably represented by the Honourable Commissioner for Health’ @ProfAkinAbayomi @followlasg@lasgeducation@Mr_JAGs pic.twitter.com/ivo10tvJNB

— LSMOH (@LSMOH) May 19, 2021

Images released by the Lagos State Ministry of Health in 2021 and recent photographs taken by AFP journalists confirm the renovation of the school.

Additionally, a reverse image search revealed that the fourth image in the post was from a 2019 news report about Ojota Junior Secondary School, not Eric Moore Junior High School.

The social media post’s claim about the state of Eric Moore Junior High School is misleading, as the photos used are outdated and do not reflect the current condition of the school after renovation efforts by the state government.