Human meat served at Nigerian hotels: fact or fiction?
Fiction.
The rumour about human meat served at Nigerian hotels started with a story that broke on Osun Defender, a Nigerian tabloid, in 2013 of a hotel in Onitsha, Anambra state, where two human heads were found in a hotel room leading to the arrest and detention of the hotel owner and several staff.
Well told, several times regurgitated (if you’ll forgive the pun), but the story of human meat being served at a Nigerian hotel restaurant is nevertheless fiction and a clear example of journalistic plagiarism and misreporting. Here is how we know:
The story
On September 5, 2013 a story broke out on Osun Defender: apparently, two human heads had been found wrapped in a sack in a hotel room in Onitsha close to the Ose-Okwudu market. Two AK-47 rifles and about 40 rounds of ammunition were found alongside the human heads. The heads were discovered by the police after they had been tipped off by some undisclosed informants. According to the hotel owner, the tip-off must have been really hot because the police immediately went straight for the hotel room 102 where the heads were discovered. The hotel owner and staff present at the time were arrested and paraded by the police. According to Osun Defender a vegetable seller close by stated that shady people were wont to come by the hotel thus making the police raid unsurprising. A pastor at the premises at the time of the raid claimed to have been sold a lump of meat for N700, a surprising matter, thus leading to a conclusion that said meat must have been human.
The regurgitations – forgive this regurgitated pun
Apparently, Osun Defender had gotten whiff of the story from a post on an online forum before publishing it on their tabloid in September. In February 2014, New York Daily News, International Business Times, Independent, Metro and Gawker put up this exact same story on their sites. Only, this time, the heads were deemed freshly severed but the pastor and vegetable seller also made the bottom paragraphs with direct quotes. By 13th May this year (2015), the post resurfaced on the BBC Swahili website and was immediately picked up again by Daily Mail and Metro only this time, the heads were dripping with blood, being stored at the back or in some versions on the kitchen counter and according to Metro some human flesh was being served while the police watched on, what impudence! The pastor reappeared but this time around as a priest and the vegetable seller was now a local resident.
The holes in the story
First off, what is the name of the hotel? This story broke about two years ago and till now, no one has been able to find the name of the hotel. Secondly, at least according to the first version, the heads were found in a hotel room, suggesting that they were left by a hotel guest rather than the management. One wonders what happened to the check in logs. Thirdly, how come no one had bothered to find out the name of the pastor-cum-priest and vegetable selling local resident? Fourthly, a person allegedly ate human meat and his only reaction to it was how expensive said meat was? And finally, all the publications that have published this ‘news’ have all quoted one source: Osun Defender, indicating that asides this tabloid, no one, not even in Onitsha broke this exciting story.
Fiction.
On many occasions, rumours have spread concerning ritual killings and cannibalism in Nigeria, especially in the eastern parts of the country. While those rumours are yet to be fully substantiated, it has not however halted their spread. Thus, it is easy for such rumours to be spread and easily believed. However as to this particular rumour of hotels in Nigeria serving human meat, the jury is out with a verdict: fiction.
References
http://www.snopes.com/horrors/cannibal/nigeria.asp
http://metro.co.uk/2015/05/16/restaurant-shut-down-after-serving-human-flesh-5200730/
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/577836/Severed-heads-found-at-a-Nigerian-restaurant-serving-human-flesh-to-diners
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/nigerian-hotel-serves-human-meat-report-article-1.1616311
http://www.inquisitr.com/2094636/nigerian-restaurant-shut-down-for-serving-human-meat/
http://www.msn.com/en-us/foodanddrink/foodnews/nigerian-restaurant-shut-down-for-serving-human-flesh/ar-BBjQfOB
http://dangerousminds.net/comments/restaurantshutdownforsellinghumanflesh
