Actress Shan George under fire over HIV comment on Benue State

Out-of-favour Nollywood actress, Shan George, has come under heavy criticism following a social media post in which she claimed that HIV was spreading rapidly in Benue State.

IDOMA VOICE observed that in a Facebook post that sparked widespread outrage, the actress warned her followers to “be careful,” alleging that Benue State had alarming HIV statistics. She accompanied the post with an AI-generated image depicting persons dressed in Tiv traditional black-and-white attire.

“Be careful out there Fam, this statistic is just for Benue State alone. HIV is real and it’s spreading fast,” George wrote.

Her comment immediately drew backlash, with many Nigerians accusing her of ethnic profiling, misinformation and stigmatisation of the people of Benue State.

Critics also faulted the actress for failing to provide a verifiable source for her claim, noting that available data from the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) does not rank Benue as the state with the highest HIV burden. According to figures published by NACA, Rivers State has been identified as having the highest number of people living with HIV in Nigeria.

As criticism mounted, George fired back at her detractors in a follow-up post, insisting that the information did not originate from her and accusing critics of reacting without verification.

“Simply verify the news. It’s not created by Shan George. These numbers were even in 2024; by now it would have even increased. Ozuors, read?” she wrote.

However, her response appeared to further inflame tensions, especially among Benue indigenes, many of whom described the post as insensitive, particularly at a time when the state has been grappling with deadly attacks and humanitarian crises.

Reacting to the post, Facebook user Edna Jones questioned the actress’s motive, stating that while the country sympathises with Benue over ongoing killings, George chose to focus on what she described as “image tarnishing.”

Another critic, Ukan Kurugh, faulted the actress for sharing unverified information, saying, “You are too big to drop such information without a verifiable link.”

Senator Eugene Oryiman also condemned the post, describing it as “gibberish” and accusing the actress of seeking attention.

Others, including Patricia Yadoo Ande, argued that HIV is a national and global health issue and should not be framed in a way that singles out one state, while Rosemary Agim cautioned against fear-mongering, noting that HIV is no longer a death sentence and can be effectively managed with proper treatment.