Has President Trump Ordered the FBI to Arrest Nyesom Wike?
Trump FBI arrest Wike claimFollowing the inauguration of the 47th President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, a Facebook page, Igbo Times Magazine posted the claim that the American President had ordered for the arrest of Nigeria’s Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
The post which included a collage of Trump and Wike’s was captioned, “Breaking News: Trump Orders FBI to Arrest ‘Wike’ on Sight in Any European Country, Including France, Over Alleged Crimes Committed During the 2023 Election.” “Let me tell you, folks, I’ve seen so many complaints, unbelievable complaints, about crimes committed against Nigerians by a so-called prominent Nigerian Politician, this guy they call Wike. It’s just terrible, really terrible. So, I’ve told my FBI, the best in the world, to arrest him on sight. We’re not letting him get away with the things he’s done. Believe me, it’s going to be huge, and justice will be served.” full Details here 👇 http://ak.choufoapsel.net/4/8508133.”
This claim has generated significant engagement and was also spotted on other Facebook accounts, here and here.
VERIFICATION
A search of keywords from the claim did not generate any related news report about the arrest of Wike. Although the claim did not specify where and when President Trump gave the order, if the order was given barely 24 hours after his inauguration, international, African and Nigerian media platforms would have published related news reports.
Can the FBI make arrests on Foreign Soil?
The primary interest of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, is to “protect the American people and uphold the U.S. Constitution”. The claim states that Wike is to be arrested “Over Alleged Crimes Committed During the 2023 Election”. This alleged offence was not committed on American soil and has in no way affected Americans or tampered with the U.S. Constitution. If an arrest on the alleged offence is to be made, it will be under the jurisdiction of the Nigerian Authority. Meanwhile, Wike is the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and has not been declared wanted by the authorities.
According to the intelligence agency, “On foreign soil, FBI special agents generally do not have authority to make arrests except in certain cases where, with the consent of the host country, Congress has granted the FBI extraterritorial jurisdiction”.
Inconsistency in the claim
The first paragraph of the claim says the order for the arrest was over crimes committed during the 2023 elections.
The following paragraph was incoherent, unintelligible and vague; talking about complaints, the FBI being the best in the world, specifically phrases that said “We’re not letting him get Nigerian Politician, this guy they call Wike,” and “Believe me, it’s going to be huge, and justice will be served.”
Advert by Trick
At the end of the claim, a link was provided for full details of the story, however, the link redirects to an online trading platform EXNESS.
Igbo Times Magazine has created false stories that are controversial in nature to lure people to the online trading platform as it did with the post that claimed Wizkid’s oldest son Boluwatife died in a plane crash, leading readers to the same website.
VERDICT
The claim that the President of the United States of America, Donald Trump has ordered the arrest of the Nigerian Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike is FALSE. The Facebook page that posted the claim is well-known for using clickbait headlines and news stories to generate traffic to an online trading platform, EXNESS.