Papa Ajasco’s death: A case of misleading and mistaken identity By Rejoice Enoch Taddy

CLAIM-  A Twitter user shared news of the death of actor Femi Ogunrombi, popularly known as Papa Ajasco, in the popular sitcom, but with a wrong photo.

VERDICT: Misleading

FULL TEXT

On January 15, the internet was abuzz with news of the death of actor Femi Ogunrombi, who played "Papa Ajasco" in the popular sitcom Papa Ajasco and Company, produced by Wale Adenuga Productions.

The news of Mr Ogunrombi's death which was shared widely across social media platforms, especially Twitter, was accompanied by the photo of Abiodun Ayoyinka, another actor who originally played the role of Papa Ajasco.

It also received widespread engagements across platforms. For example, a tweet by a Twitter user, @DoctorPenking generated over 382,000 views, 1,280 retweets, 225 quotes and 8,277 likes.

Multiple comments shared on the post show that most users believed the claim while others argued.

VERIFICATION 

An analysis by DATA CHECKZ revealed that the photo attached to the viral news of Femi Ogunrombi's death was actually that of Abiodun Ayoyinka, an actor who, like Ogunrombi, had also played the role of Papa Ajasco in the popular sitcom, Papa Ajasco and Company.

While both actors have starred in the comedy series as Papa Ajasco, Ayoyinka indeed played the role from 1996 when it was first aired till 2006. Ogunrombi only took over the role until 2007.

Ayoyinka has also released a 24-seconds video debunking claims of his death.

CONCLUSION

Our findings show this is a case of mistaken identity between the two actors who played Papa Ajasco, which has now misled the public.