Juliet Buna
Nigerian celebrity Charles Oputa, popularly known as Charly Boy, on July 2, 2024, with the X handle Charly Boy Area Fada 1 (@AreaFada1) shared a screenshot of a news article from The Punch Newspaper with the headline “Deduct tithes straight from workers’ salaries, Archbishop begs govt.”
He captioned the post, “See this shameless one oo… Archbishop Peter Adewale of Lagos asked the Nigerian government to deduct tithes from workers’ salaries in June 2024. It’s indeed ironic and hypocritical when religious leaders prioritise material wealth over spiritual guidance and the well-being of their congregation. Instead of serving their community with humility and compassion, they exploit their position for personal gain. This behaviour undermines their faith’s core principles and erodes their followers’ trust. ‘You cannot serve both God and money.’ (Matthew 6:24). I don’t tell una say Religion na our biggest problem for this country. #Naijamatter”
Charly Boy claimed that the Archbishop is Peter Adewale from Nigeria and that he said that in June 2024 and was reported by The PunchNewspaper. Charly Boy’s post garnered over 82,000 views, 394 reposts, and 419 replies as of the filing of this report. Some users agreed with his stance, criticising religious leaders for prioritising material wealth over spiritual guidance. Under the post, Ike-ume (@ume_nwokedi) said,
“Religion as practiced in Nigeria is not transformational. It looks like the number of churches on every corner is inversely proportional to uprightness in the country. If that is the case, then one can easily submit that pastors are no more valuable to an average Nigerian than greedy politicians. A man like Peter Adewale is as insensitive as Tinubu and his gang. He, therefore, needs to be ignored no matter what title he goes by.”
Another user, Oluwasegun Taylor (@OluwasegunTayl) wrote, “I concur with you, my brother, it is very shameful talk, no spiritual impactation from a lot of them.”
However, another user, Naaka Chukwu (@ObianujuCIW), cautioned, “This isn’t even a “Nigerian archbishop” and it’s 2018 news. I suggest you read the news first. Shame on @AreaFada1 for peddling fake news.”
VERIFICATION
A Google Reverse Image Search revealed that the image attached to Charly Boy’s post was a 2018 publication from The Punch Newspaper. The article, published on October 31, 2018, reported that the Archbishop of Kampala, Cyprian Kizito Lwanga, suggested the request to Uganda’s government, not the Nigerian government, as Charly Boy claimed. The Archbishop is also not Peter Adewale as Charly Boy claimed.
Citizen Kenya first published the original story on October 29, 2018, which was later referenced by The Punch Newspaper. This contradicts Charly Boy’s claim that the event occurred in June 2024 in Lagos.
CONCLUSION
Findings confirmed that Charly Boy’s post was inaccurate and MISLEADING. The story is older than June 2024, and the Archbishop who made the statement is from Uganda, not Nigeria.
The researcher produced this fact-check per the DUBAWA 2024 Kwame KariKari Fellowship, in partnership with Crest 91.1FM, Ibadan, and News Verifier Africa, to enrich the ethos of “truth” in journalism and enhance media literacy in the country.
