Nigeria: Nigerians, Ignore Online Claims About New Ferry Service From Onitsha to Lagos

Nigerians, ignore online claims about new ferry service from Onitsha to Lagos

IN SHORT: A viral video claims to show a ferry service between Onitsha and Lagos. But the video, posted initially on TikTok by a travel content creator, shows a ferry between Zanzibar and mainland Tanzania in East Africa. There is no evidence of such a ferry service in Nigeria.

A widely circulated social media claim suggests that a ferry service is now operating between the city of Onitsha and Lagos state in Nigeria , transporting passengers for N7,000 (about US$4.54) per trip.

The claim is accompanied by a one-minute, 17-second video showing passengers seated on what appears to be a new and comfortable ferry.

One of the Facebook posts shared a video with the caption: “Onitsha to Lagos by ferry N7,000 per seat … Interesting times ahead! Lagos to PHC, Uyo, loading … Marine & Blue Economy.”

Onitsha is a historic trading hub in Anambra state, situated on the Niger River. It links major cities and exports goods such as palm oil and yams.

Lagos state, on the other hand, is in southwestern Nigeria along the Bight of Benin. It borders Ogun state, the country of Benin and the Atlantic Ocean, and is Nigeria’s economic hub.

The video also briefly reveals an outside view of waves. The claim of a new ferry service has received significant attention on WhatsApp and social media platforms X, here and here, and Instagram, here and here.

The video was also found on Facebook here and here. (Note: See more instances listed at the end of this report.)

But is this claim true? We checked.

Video shows Tanzanian ferry service

Africa Check saw that the video includes a TikTok watermark and username. We proceeded to search for this account, which led to this TikTok profile, where the same video was posted on 10 January 2025.

The caption to the video on TikTok read: “This is the ferry I took coming back to the mainland from Zanzibar.”

A closer review of the video and the caption confirms that the footage shows a ferry service between the island of Zanzibar and mainland Tanzania. At the end of the video, at the 59 second mark, the URL www.bakhresa.com can be seen painted on the exterior of another ferry.

Bakhresa Group is a large company based in Tanzania and operating in nine countries in East and Southern Africa. Their marine transport division operates ferries between Dar Es Salaam, Zanzibar, Pemba and Tanga, all in Tanzania. This would indicate that the video in question was taken on a ferry in Tanzania, not Nigeria.

We also conducted a keyword search for “Onitsha to Lagos by ferry”, but there was no credible information about such a service. Instead, the search results indicated road transportation costs and travel time for the same route.

The claim that the video shows passengers travelling by ferry from Onitsha to Lagos is false. The footage is of a ferry operating in Tanzania.

Misleading claims like this, especially about public transportation, can cause unnecessary confusion.

The same claim can be found here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.