A UK-based Nigerian, Lekan Tirimisiyu, who narrated a supposed battle with the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), has been dragged on Twitter.
Lekan who tweets via @tirimisiyu2013 from Hatfield, Hertfordshire in the UK, had claimed to be a public transport driver working in New York City in the US.
Taking to Twitter on Tuesday morning, the supposed victim said he’s currently at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of an undisclosed hospital due to the virus.
He added that he had been sick for nearly two weeks and nearly died after contracting the virus from his job driving the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA) Metro buses in New York City.
Lekan, who shared a supposed photo of himself in the ICU, said he wore gloves and a mask and still caught the virus, saying people “should be concerned about going to work every day”.
He wrote, “I’m currently in ICU fighting COVID-19. Been sick for almost 2 weeks and almost died. Its been a truly humbling experience and I don’t think my perspective on life will ever be the same. To all my NFTA metro friends yes I have COVID-19 and I got it driving those contaminated buses.
You should be concerned about going to work every day. I wore gloves and a mask and still caught it. My mother is also diagnosed and she is admitted here in the “hospital. Those mask and gloves won’t save you from that NFTA bus exposure and what good is a paycheck if you aren’t alive to spend it?
“My fight isn’t over but I felt well enough to post this. Pray 4 me and my mom Barbara Jones and all the sick people. This is real. Stay indoors!”
See tweet:
Im currently in ICU fighting Covid 19. Been sick for almost 2 weeks and almost died. Its been a truly humbling experience and i dont think my perspective on life will ever be the same. To all my NFTA metro friends yes i have Covid 19 and I got it driving those contaminated buses. pic.twitter.com/neFx4timEX
— Lekan (@tirimisiyu2013) April 13, 2020
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The post had generated thousands of goodwill likes, retweets and comments. As of 3:00 am Nigerian Time, the tweet had generated 2.6k retweets, 5.5k likes and several comments, with many commenters praying for his recovery.
However, Lekan’s lies were exposed when a commenter, David Okon identified the photo used as that of another person who had shared his experience two weeks prior.
A check by The Herald showed that the photo was indeed that of Bee Jones, an African-American man from New York. Jones shared the story about his battle with COVID-19 on Thursday, April 9.
See screenshot:
Okon, who identified himself as a PR expert, accused Lekan of lying about his condition to gain followers on Twitter. Despite this exposure, Lekan has made no effort to correct the misrepresentation.
Replying to the tweet, Okon tweeted:
It's all lies, he's an impostor, check his TL & Bio you will see.
He copied the image to chase clout and grow followers, the original patient is a USA based citizen who shared this 2 weeks ago.
— Idongesit David Okon Engr| NeoPublicis.com (@princedavidokon) April 14, 2020
See Lekan’s photo:
