On Tuesday morning, a Business Day report claimed a court in the United States acquitted Allen Onyema, the CEO of Air Peace Limited.

Onyema is facing obstruction of justice charges in Georgia. The US Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Georgia, said on Friday they were investigating Onyema for “submitting false documents to the government in an effort to end an investigation of him that resulted in earlier charges of bank fraud and money laundering”.

The attorney’s statement drew mixed reactions from Nigerians. The Business Day report went public four days later, and several people responded positively to the news.

CLAIM: US court acquits Air Peace boss, slams Mayfield $4,000 fine.

This report did not state when the court ‘acquitted’ Onyema or fined Ebony Mayfield, a former Springfield Aviation Company staff member.

VERIFICATION: To ascertain if there was an acquittal for Onyema over his recent legal battles, FIJ checked the Tuesday report for dates of court appearances and arguments, but found none.

FIJ also found a The Guardian published on October 30, 2022. This report, two years older than the recent one, contains materials identical to Tuesday’s report, including a statement Augustine Alegeh & Co. issued. According to both reports, the law firm spoke on behalf of the airline.