By Pascal Ibe
Claim
A Facebook page, IgbereTV, shared a photo depicting an attack on the hometown of a Nigerian ex-army chief, Buratai.
Verdict
This photo is MISLEADING. Findings revealed that this image was from March 2023 when Operation Hadin Kai in collaboration with the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) stormed the hideout of ISWAP in Dikwa Local Government Area of Borno State, killing 41 of the terrorists including a Commander, Abu Zahra
Full Text
A Facebook page, IgbereTV news, on Thursday published a photo depicting an attack on the hometown of a Nigerian ex-army chief, Tukur Buratai, in Borno State.
IgbereTV shared the photo showing a massive explosion with a caption that reads, “ 💥BREAKING! Boko Haram Attacks Hometown Of Nigeria’s Ex-Army Chief Tukur Buratai (Happening Now)😳😱😭
With hundreds of reactions, many people who commented on the post believed that the picture depicted the attack was true.
Buratai is a retired Nigerian army lieutenant general, former Chief of Army Staff, appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari in July 2015, and Nigeria’s Ambassador to the Republic of Benin.
Verification
This photo was subjected to a Google Image Reverse Search and we discovered that this was an unrelated image from March 2023 when Operation Hadin Kai in collaboration with the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) stormed the hideout of ISWAP in Dikwa Local Government Area of Borno State, killing 41 of the terrorists including a Commander, Abu Zahra
According to a Counterinsurgency media outlet, Zagazola Wakama reported that the troops eliminated the terrorists in a silent, intelligence-led midnight offensive coordinated by Maj. Gen. Shaibu Waidi, the General Officer Commanding 7 Division and Commander Sector 1, in Mukdolo, GUPDILO and Bone villages, located between Dikwa, Ngala and Mafa.
See similar reports of this here and here.
On the other hand, the attempted attack by Boko Haram terrorists on the hometown of Buratai and another community was foiled by Nigerian troops on Thursday.
Vanguard reported that the ground forces and Air Component of North East ‘Operation HADIN KAI’ (OPHK), scores of terrorists have been neutralised, with assorted arms and ammunition recovered, in a foiled attack on troops in Buratai, Biu Local Government Area, and Mallam Fatori, Abadam Local Government Area of Borno State.
The failed attack on Buratai occurred in the early hours of Thursday, 5 June 2025, when the terrorists attempted to deceitfully infiltrate troops’ location from all approaches. Read this similar report here and here.
Conclusion
To generate traffic by any means, an old photo was recycled to show a recent attack by Boko Haram terrorists on the hometown of the ex-army chief, Buratai.
