This thread is an attempt to provide some background to the stories that appear on the
front page. Since most readers believe whatever that is posted on the front page, it has
become necessary to check the veracity of such stories. If a story is determined to be
true, we will state so and if it is false, we will do the same. If we are unable to
determine whether a story is true or false, it will be rated inconclusive.


* Church Members Barred From Discussing Chris Okotie’s Marriage
https://www.nairaland.com/976259/church-members-barred-discussing-chris
Rating: INCONCLUSIVE
We rated this story as inconclusive because the poster did not provide a valid link to the
source. The link he/she provided led nowhere. See link below:
http://www./church-members-barred-from-discussing-chris-okoties-marriage/


* Euro 2012: Spain Beat Portugal 4 - 2 On Penalties
https://www.nairaland.com/975754/euro-2012-portugal-vs-spain/19#11253112
Rating: TRUE
We watched the match live. Score after full and extra time was 0 - 0.


* Google Unveils Nexus 7 Android Tablet
https://www.nairaland.com/976198/google-unveils-nexus-7-android
Rating: TRUE


* JTF Kills 17 Gunmen & Defuse Bombs In Kano
https://www.nairaland.com/976160/jtf-kills-17-gunmen-defuse
Rating: TRUE
We rated this story as true because the figures were provided by the Kano State Police
Commissioner, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris.


* Jimmy Henchman Admits Involvement In Tupac Shooting
https://www.nairaland.com/975304/jimmy-henchman-admits-involvement-tupac
Rating: TRUE
[s]US authorities officially classified the death of Tupac as un-solved. In the past, several[/s]
[s]people have been accused of involvement in the murder but the case still remains un-solved.[/s]
As noted by Naptu2, this story refers to a 1994 shooting which Tupac survived not the 1996
shooting that resulted in his death. So we have changed the rating from "Inconclusive" to
"True".


* Pictures Of Banky W Interviewing Fashola
https://www.nairaland.com/975880/banky-w-interviews-governor-fashola
Rating: Partially TRUE
While this story showed several pictures of Banky W with Gov Fashola, we rated it as
"Partially TRUE" because it said nothing about the interview or it's subject. Banky W may
have simply paid a courtesy visit to the governor for all we know.


* OBJ's New Job: Adviser To New World Oil & Gas plc In London
https://www.nairaland.com/976012/obj-adviser-new-world-oil
Rating: INCONCLUSIVE
We cannot confirm that this story is true though it may be. It is a PM News story. On their
website, they cited The Guardian of London as the source of the story without providing a
link to the source at The Guardian.


* UNILORIN Expels 13 Students For Misconduct
https://www.nairaland.com/976009/unilorin-expels-13-students-misconduct
Rating: TRUE
We rated this as true based on this statement: The University of Ilorin has expelled 13
students for various acts of misconduct, the Registrar of the institution, Olufolake
Oyeyemi, said in Ilorin on Tuesday.


* 3 Things Microsoft Cannot Explain
https://www.nairaland.com/975916/3-things-microsoft-cannot-explain
Rating: FALSE
The poster of this story tried to give the impression that Bill Gates and Microsoft engage
in some kind of black magic in developing their software. But that notion was quickly
dispelled by a bright NLer named Maleeq.


* Boko Haram Killed More Muslims – Ningi: Do You Agree?
https://www.nairaland.com/975670/boko-haram-killed-more-muslims
Rating: TRUE
We rated this story as true because the deputy Senate Majority Leader
Abdul Ningi did say the following: “...statistics on the ground shows that more Muslims
have been killed in the attacks by the sect than the Christians?” We did not check whether
that statistics is true.


* Corpers Posted To Borno, Yobe To Have Orientation In Adamawa
https://www.nairaland.com/974776/nysc-batch-b-2012-b.r.e.a.k.i.n.g
Rating: TRUE
A visit to the NYSC website (http://www.nysc.gov.ng/) confirmed it. But we must
add that the NYSC website appears grossly sub-standard.


* Arsenal To Play Super Eagles In Abuja On August 5th
https://www.nairaland.com/975956/arsenal-play-super-eagles-abuja
Rating: TRUE


* Awolowo’s Letter From Prison To Aguiyi Ironsi
https://www.nairaland.com/975707/obafemi-awolowo-letter-prison-dated
Rating: INCONCLUSIVE
The poster referenced "My March Through Prison", a book written by Chief Awolowo as the
source of this story. Since the events in the story happened in the 1960s and since most
of the major actors are no longer alive to corroborate the points in dispute, we are unable
to rate this story as true.

nice thread.

Hey Biz,

I like the idea of using indicators to flag and rate topics.

I see something that need your review and correction. In the Ningi assertion that more Muslims have been killed by bokoharam, you simply used the statistical or technical evidence without the need to corroborate from families of victims if that statistical evidence will hold water.

When you rated the Awolowo's letter you used a different criteria for your rating. The poster referenced the book from which the letter came and the book is indeed in circulation. Therefore the story is fact. Looking for principals to corroborate the letter is playing jury, far from what you need to rate the post.

Please be mindful, I understand that this is new and work in progress. . . but there need to be consistency in the way discretion is applied when raising the flags.

Please update your rating and change the rating on Awo letter to TRUE, this gives consistency.

Thanks.

* Jimmy Henchman Admits Involvement In Tupac Shooting
https://www.nairaland.com/975304/jimmy-henchman-admits-involvement-tupac
Rating: INCONCLUSIVE
US authorities officially classified the death of Tupac as un-solved. In the past, several
people have been accused of involvement in the murder but the case still remains un-solved.

The story is about the 1994 shooting/robbery, which Tupac survived. It is not about the 1996 fatal shooting.

On the night of November 30, 1994, the day before the verdict in his sexual abuse trial was to be announced, Shakur was shot five times and robbed by two armed men in army fatigues after entering the lobby of Quad Recording Studios in Manhattan. He would later accuse Sean Combs,[41]Andre Harrell, and Biggie Smalls—whom he saw after the shooting—of setting him up. Shakur also suspected his close friend and associate, Randy "Stretch" Walker, of being involved in the attack.

On September 7, 1996, Shakur was shot four times in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was taken to the University Medical Center, where he died six days later.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupac_Shakur

Dudu_Negro:

When you rated the Awolowo's letter you used a different criteria for your rating. The poster referenced the book from which the letter came and the book is indeed in circulation. Therefore the story is fact. Looking for principals to corroborate the letter is playing jury, far from what you need to rate the post.

Thanks.

The highlighted part is sufficient to earn a TRUE rating.

I see can't stop making me laugh

@ Dudu Negro,

Your points are well noted. Although we did not verify Abdul Ningi's statement that "Boko
Haram Killed More Muslim", we rated it as TRUE because:

1. He was quoted as having said it.
2. The North, where Boko Haram is active is pre-dominantly Muslim. Since their bombings are
indiscriminate, it is within reason to assume there will be more Muslim casaulties than any
other.

Chief Awolowo's case is a bit more difficult. The purported letter to Gen. Aguiyi Ironsi
was contained in a book he wrote in 1985. Gen. Ironsi died in 1966. So it will be quite
difficult for me or anybody else to conclude with any degree of certainty that the letter
is true as written. So we will leave it as "Inconclusive".

naptu2:
The story is about the 1994 shooting/robbery, which Tupac survived. It is not about the 1996 fatal shooting.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupac_Shakur

I have amended that section to reflect your correction. The fact-checker has been fact-checked.

Thanks.

This is commendable.
If NL was a physical location, some members would never go home.
Yes,This is where quite a few people spend their time.
This site has become a dispenser of Info and repeating false info has libellous consequences.
Its a new time for NL. All this new developments are necessary but they'll not seat well with everybody.
Interesting times ahead.

Nice, and good work.

BizBooks: @ Dudu Negro,

Your points are well noted. Although we did not verify Abdul Ningi's statement that "Boko
Haram Killed More Muslim", we rated it as TRUE because:

1. He was quoted as having said it.
2. The North, where Boko Haram is active is pre-dominantly Muslim. Since their bombings are
indiscriminate, it is within reason to assume there will be more Muslim casaulties than any
other.

Chief Awolowo's case is a bit more difficult. The purported letter to Gen. Aguiyi Ironsi
was contained in a book he wrote in 1985. Gen. Ironsi died in 1966. So it will be quite
difficult for me or anybody else to conclude with any degree of certainty that the letter
is true as written. So we will leave it as "Inconclusive".

I dey laugh.

Boko Haram bombings are not indiscriminate! They are specific and are targeted against christians and security agencies.
They have killed more christians than muslims except if you believe suicide bombers are more than victims.


There is no basis for you to reject the content of a book that has not been called to question. Besides, there is no other book in circulation with conflicting content.

This your present endeavor appears to be an exercise in futility. It has more propaganda value than credibility.

Biz,

The assumption that the locality of boko attacks necessarily supports Ningi's claim is in itself an error. There is no factual and authentic way to rule if more Muslims or Christians died in the hands of boko.

Awo's letter was published and in circulation. Ironsi had an estate that had legal responsibility to settle all disputes and indebtedness pertaining to the deceased. Until they exercise such legal responsibility to disclaim the truthfullness of the letter, it's authenticity shall not be questioned on this forum.

Please do not be bias in your disposition.

nice effort long overdue , just hoping it will be sustained

Dudu_Negro: Biz,
Please do not be bias in your disposition.

I have no reason to be biased especially when it relates to Chief Awolowo. I'm a long term
admirer of the Unity Party of Nigeria. During the 2nd republic, people in my area voted NPP
in local elections and UPN in Presidential elections.

I appreciate your allegiance and I commend it. On the rating of the thread on Awo's letter, it should be updated to FACT. The administrators of this forum do not have the burden of proving or otherwise on the letter, the estate does. The estate of Ironsi have not done that. Your rating of a thread should not predicate on their action but correctly on whether the letter can be properly referenced and the reference is credible.

As I said, it was referenced to a published book. That's enough for you to rate. No more, no less!

BizBooks:

[s]I have no reason to be biased especially when it relates to Chief Awolowo. I'm a long term
admirer of the Unity Party of Nigeria. During the 2nd republic, people in my area voted NPP
in local elections and UPN in Presidential elections.[/s]

It has nothing to do with your opinion or personal admiration for either UPN or Awolowo. It has everything to do with objectivity.
If you are not objective, the thread itself is dead on arrival.

Dudu_Negro: The administrators of this forum do not have the burden of proving or otherwise on the letter, the estate does...As I said, it was referenced to a published book. That's enough for you to rate. No more, no less!

This thread was neither approved nor sanctioned by the administrators of Nairaland. It is
totally independent of their input or control. So the decision to rate Chief Awolowo's letter
as "inconclusive" is completely mine. I should take the blame for any shortcomings thereof.
Remember, "inconclusive" in this case does not mean "False". It simply means that I don't
have enough information to decide one way or the other.

Nice. Will it be after, say 10 post to frontpage, then rated OR before it is posted to frontpage it will be verified and rated as inconclusive, true or false?

bayooooooo:

I dey laugh.

Boko Haram bombings are not indiscriminate! They are specific and are targeted against christians and security agencies.

Thankfully, you used 'targeted'. So, since you've been following all the activities that the news media has attributed to 'suspected BH' members, were they all at churches

Are the security agents in those agencies muslims? The prison officials? The market 'participants'? Kano residents?
Human beings have lost their lives and that's what's most important. The statement was found to be 'made' by the Senator and not whether you or Mustay (dis)agrees with his opinion.

bayooooooo:

It has nothing to do with your opinion or personal admiration for either UPN or Awolowo. It has everything to do with objectivity.
If you are not objective, the thread itself is dead on arrival.

The poster seems to give the impression that I am biased against Chief Awolowo. So I had to
make it abundantly clear that is not the case. The fact that I am not willing to take Chief
Awolowo at his words should tell you that my intention is to be as objective as practicable.

BizBooks:

This thread was neither approved nor sanctioned by the administrators of Nairaland. It is
totally independent of their input or control. So the decision to rate Chief Awolowo's letter
as "inconclusive" is completely mine. I should take the blame for any shortcomings thereof.
Remember, "inconclusive" in this case does not mean "False". It simply means that I don't
have enough information to decide one way or the other.

There is no need to veil identity, let people know upfront that its an independent work. If it's good it will stand its own merit. Look at your intro below. . . .purpose is well articulated but then you screened the identity. Anyway, its nice to know after the fact that it's all a personal opinion.

This thread is an attempt to provide some background to the stories that appear on the
front page. Since most readers believe whatever that is posted on the front page, it has
become necessary to check the veracity of such stories. If a story is determined to be
true, we will state so and if it is false, we will do the same. If we are unable to
determine whether a story is true or false, it will be rated inconclusive.

FUNNY MENTALITY... Why should a 'FALSE' story be accepted and make its way to the front page in the first place?
Seems the MODERATOR'S reasoning needs some washing and setting.

bayooooooo:

I dey laugh.

Boko Haram bombings are not indiscriminate! They are specific and are targeted against christians and security agencies.
They have killed more christians than muslims except if you believe suicide bombers are more than victims.


There is no basis for you to reject the content of a book that has not been called to question. Besides, there is no other book in circulation with conflicting content.

This your present endeavor appears to be an exercise in futility. It has more propaganda value than credibility.

I wonder why BIZBOOKS has not replied this

will the thread be rated before they make front page or after they make front page?
I don't gerrit!
If its the latter,it doesnt make sense!

How can you say that the story that more Muslims had been killed than Christians is true? You relied on a statistics that is not even part of the topic - yet you called Banky W's Fashola to be inconclusive because the interview didn't form part of the topic.

Where is the statistics?

BIASED !! the fact it made the front page in my opinion means nairaland has given its stamp of approval and therefore equally biased.
who verified that more muslims have been killed for starters!

[quote author=BizBooks]@ Dudu Negro,

Your points are well noted. Although we did not verify Abdul Ningi's statement that "Boko
Haram Killed More Muslim", we rated it as TRUE because:

1. He was quoted as having said it.
2. The North, where Boko Haram is active is pre-dominantly Muslim. Since their bombings are
indiscriminate, it is within reason to assume there will be more Muslim casaulties than any
other.

Chief Awolowo's case is a bit more difficult. The purported letter to Gen. Aguiyi Ironsi
was contained in a book he wrote in 1985. Gen. Ironsi died in 1966. So it will be quite





Mr Bizbooks,its like you are not aware that Ironsi was president of Nigeria while Awolowo was in abakiliki prison,so for one there is a possibility that Awo wrote from prison.A book was referenced,is that book in existence?if there is such a book,the next step is to ask people that have read the book to confirm.

The reasons you are giving for coming to your conclusion are not too sound to me.THough the idea has to be commended ,its a good idea in that it will help to ensure nairaland is not used as a platform for spreading false information

@poster,you rated Okotie's story inconclusive because the poster's link was faulty.You didn't even bother to go to the internet to verify yourself.Maybe you should look at these links

www.todaysnigeria.com/2012/06/church-members-barred-from-discussing.html?m=1

www.boomzinemagazine.com/2012/06/rev-chris-okoties-church-members-barred.html?m=1

Or you don't regard stories from blogs as credible?

slimyem: will the thread be rated before they make front page or after they make front page?
I don't gerrit!
If its the latter,it doesnt make sense!

After!

You also after to be reminded that Nairaland is not a newspaper or online journal. So, it's what arouses interests generally that make FP. Even if someone writes that he slept with a rat, what SOURCE do you want for that? The more reason why it's a DISCUSSION FORUM. Other readers input, dispel or support certain writings - a reader's deductions can be formed therefrom.

Nice thread