CLAIM: Governor Alia of Benue state has erected statues of himself in the state VERDICT: False. Photos are AI-generated. FULL STORY In recent days, a series of images has gone viral on social media, claiming to show giant statues of the Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, standing in public squares and highways. The photos are
CLAIM: Governor Alia of Benue state has erected statues of himself in the state
VERDICT: False. Photos are AI-generated.
FULL STORY
In recent days, a series of images has gone viral on social media, claiming to show giant statues of the Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, standing in public squares and highways. The photos are being shared with captions accusing the governor of wasteful spending and self-glorification.
In a post made by X user Abu Amir is a caption that reads, “The executive governor of Benue state. APC governors just dey compete for clown pass.” Attached to the post are two photos which show the giant statues depicted to be undergoing construction. Tiny figures presented to be real humans can be seen on the iron bars shown in the photos.
Some of the comments under the post are:
@_Ekezie: “Thou shalt not make for thyself any graven image—— Exodus 20:4 This guy’s fall will be very loud.”
@Dokun_S: “So, after this immortalisation, what do they think the citizens would be saying about them? They were the best thing after Akpu?”
The post has since gathered over 350,000 views, over 2000 likes and more than 700 shares.
Checks by NDRFactHub reveal that these images are not real. They were created using Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools and do not depict any actual structures in Benue State.
A closer look at the photos also shows common signs of AI manipulation: distorted proportions, blurred backgrounds, and inconsistent details around the supposed statues. Additionally, no credible local or national media have reported the erection of such monuments, and no government records or eyewitness accounts confirm their existence, as a project of this magnitude would have been heavily reported by the media.
A screenshot of the X post
Further searches on the governor’s official pages and local news platforms also show no evidence of statue projects. Instead, these AI-generated photos appear to have been created and shared to stir outrage and mislead the public.
CONCLUSION
The claim that the Benue State Governor built statues of himself is false; the circulating images are AI-generated, not real photos. Political criticism should rely on facts, so verify content before sharing to prevent misinformation.
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