Image Of 'Justice For Sushant' Placards In Nigeria Is Fake

An image purporting to show Nigerians with placards reading 'Justice For Sushant', is morphed and fake as the original photo shows a mass protest against Nigeria's notorious police unit SARS (Special Anti Robbery Squad).

34-year old actor Sushant Singh Rajput was found dead in his apartment in Mumbai on June 14, 2020. Rajput's unexpected death, which the Mumbai Police ruled as a suicide, has been a major trigger for conspiracies suspecting foul play. The incident has been fodder for misinformation being peddled across social media platforms. The case is now being investigated by India's Central Bureau of Investigation.

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The doctored image shows three individuals - a woman and two men - sitting behind placards which read 'Justice for Sushant & Kill Nepotism,' 'Justice for Sushant' and 'We want justice, RIP'. A police van with 'the Nigeria Police' can be seen prominently in the background.

The fake image is circulating on Twitter and Facebook, mainly among the many 'Justice for Sushant Singh Rajput' groups.

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FACT CHECK

A reverse image search of the photo shows that the image has been altered. A Google Reverse Image search of the photo shows the image has been used in articles by CNN about mass protests in Nigeria against brutality of a special police unit known as SARS - Special Anti Robbery Squad.

The End SARS campaign has gathered pace over the past fortnight with Nigerians hitting the street to protest against human rights abuses committed by the squad with impunity. The squad is facing accusations of harassment, torture, extortion and killings. Although Nigerians have been protesting against SARS for years, a fresh wave of protests by young Nigerians broke out earlier in October

A smaller version of the image was published in a CNN article headlined - 'Nigeria dissolves controversial police unit accused of brutality'

The original image shows placards against SARS stating - '#SARS are Authorized Criminals', '#Reform Police Disband SARS' and '#A criminal has dignity to life until found guilty'.

The image has a watermark of Pius Utomi Ekpei for AFP and Getty Images - a stock photos website.

A keyword search for 'Nigeria' 'SARS' and 'protest' led us to the image. Click here to view the original image on Getty Images' website.

The caption with the images states the following: "People sit beside a police truck on the road to the government house while carrying placard in continuation of ongoing demonstrations to call for the scrapping of the controversial police unit at Ikeja, on October 9, 2020. - Nigeria's top police chief banned a controversial anti-robbery unit and other special agents from mounting roadblocks and carrying out stop-and-search operations over accusations of abuses. Inspector-General of Police Muhammed Adamu said the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) and other tactical squads must stop such operations "with immediate effect". Adamu said the decision followed findings that "a few personnel" in undercover tactical squads have abused their position "to perpetrate all forms of illegality"

On October 11, 2020 Nigeria's police force announced that SARS would be disbanded but that officers will be redeployed to other police units.