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On Tuesday, 7th September, 2021 a statement widely shared on WhatsApp stated that the Kaduna State government has planned to shutdown telecommunications services in the state.

Claim

“Kaduna State & All Their Local Government,, Decide to shutdown Telecom Services, By Wednesday., Here are 10 Tips that might be useful to you.” the statement stated.

Verdict

It is false.

The statement placed under the logo of Kaduna state government is filled with errors, wrong capitalizations in the middle of sentences and didn’t look like any of the recent statement made by the state government.

Studies by this newspaper found that the statement did not contain date of its release.

This newspaper observed that the statement has not been properly written. In addition to this, there is no signature or name of the person authorising the release of the statement.

The poorly written statement went further to offer tips to the residents of Kaduna state such as “Get some books you will read to compensate your time on socal media, calls or the internet. You may rather wish to learn a new skill.” and nine more.

Other blunders contained in the statement include referring to Telecoms Services as ‘Telecom Services’ as well as referring to the Kaduna state local government areas as ‘all their local government’.

It is fake news – KDSG reacts

Responding to the allegation, the state government in a statement signed and made available to newsmen by the Special Adviser to the Governor, Media and Communication, Muyiwa Adekeye, on Tuesday, 7th September, 2021, debunked the claim and considered it as ‘fake news’.

“The Kaduna state government has no plans to shutdown telecoms services. It has not made such a decision, neither has it announced any such plans.” he said.

“The Kaduna State Government didn’t reach out to any federal agency to request for a telecoms shutdown, and it has not in any way ordered or effected a communications shutdown.”

“Residents of Kaduna State should ignore these rumours. It is fake news which some people are trying to pass off as genuine by placing KDSG logo on their false statements. It is simply not true.”

“Citizens should ignore the fake news. There is no shutdown of telecoms services in Kaduna State. The Kaduna State Government is transparent about security matters. Were a telecoms shutdown deemed to be necessary, that decision would have been formally announced in a properly signed statement posted on official information handles.”

Conclusion

Therefore, members of the public should treat this claim as false owing to the fact that the Kaduna state government has not made such announcement.