A viral social media claim alleging that a 52-year-old man identified as Olamide Salami Kayode is preparing to sue President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for ₦500 billion over a vintage National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) photograph has been found to be false.
The claim, which has circulated widely across Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter), alleges that Kayode is the individual featured in a well-known 1970s NYSC photograph frequently associated with President Tinubu. The posts further claim that he is planning legal action if the image continues to be used for political purposes.
However, an examination of the available evidence reveals significant inconsistencies that undermine the credibility of the story. One of the clearest flaws in the claim is the timeline.
The viral posts describe the alleged claimant as 52 years old. Based on that age, he would have been born around 1974. President Tinubu, however, completed his undergraduate studies at Chicago State University and participated in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in the late 1970s.
This means the individual described in the viral claim would have been only a young child when the photograph was allegedly taken, making it impossible for him to be the adult graduate pictured in the NYSC uniform.
Despite the claim involving an alleged ₦500 billion lawsuit against Nigeria's sitting President, there is no publicly available evidence to support it.
There are no verified court filings, statements from legal representatives, or official announcements confirming that such a lawsuit exists. Likewise, no reputable Nigerian news organisation or judicial authority has reported the alleged case.
The claim has instead spread primarily through copied social media posts without identifiable sources—a pattern commonly associated with online misinformation.
Observers have also noted similarities between the current rumour and previous controversies surrounding campaign imagery during the 2023 presidential election.
At the time, the Tinubu campaign acknowledged mistakenly using a youthful photograph of former Cross River State Governor Donald Duke in a campaign documentary before correcting the error. Analysts believe the current claim may be attempting to build on that earlier incident by presenting an unrelated and unsupported narrative.
False political claims often gain traction on social media because they appeal to emotions rather than evidence. Sharing unverified information can contribute to public confusion and weaken trust in credible information sources.
Novex News encourages readers to verify sensational stories through reliable news organisations, official government statements, and court records before reposting them online.
As of the time of this report, there is no credible evidence that a man named Olamide Salami Kayode has filed or announced a ₦500 billion lawsuit against President Bola Tinubu over any NYSC photograph. The viral claim should therefore be treated as false and misleading.