By Pascal Ibe
Claim
The movement of herdsmen and subsequent clashes with farmers and host communities in recent times have heightened insecurity in Nigeria, particularly in the North Central region and, by extension, in other parts of the country.
With renewed insurgency in the northeast, secessionists in the Southeast, and banditry in the Northwest, the security of lives and properties is long overdue.
Even with many media organizations in Nigeria, the killings by these non-state actors are daily underreported
It is in view of this that Sahara Reporters, a US-based online newspaper, published a video showing armed kidnappers filming their victims and whipping them.
Sahara Reporters posted on its X platform on 8th May with a claim that reads, “VIDEO: Armed Kidnappers Release Video Holding Victims Hostage As They Beg Not To Be Killed
However, Sahara Reporters didn’t provide further critical details about the video. It also reported that an Afenifere Youth president claimed to have identified the hoodlums who abducted him earlier this year after watching the video.
Many people on the X platform believed that this incident happened recently, as it has already generated over 150k views with a thousand likes and 900 reposts, according to X analytics.
Also, FACTWATCH Nigeria observed that this same video has been forwarded to many WhatsApp groups since last week.
Many WhatsApp users claimed that the incident occurred recently in Nigeria’s Southeast.
The post alongside the video reads, “Fulani kidnappers cladded in full military uniforms showing their victim in the S/East. What a country!
please help and share to other forums you belong ok! the reason is for our southeast governors to take more action in the security aspect.
it can be anybody tomorrow, as you share this may God bless you because you may not know that you saved a soul in danger. my people please take more precautions while applying any highway 🛣️ outside town …. our bushes need a thorough raiding with all security agencies including the forest guard
Verification
By subjecting the keyframes from the video to a Google Image Reverse Search, this Fact Checker traced this clip to an X user, @ejykmykel1, who published this video first on 11th November 2023.
He shared the video in 2023 and wrote, “Don’t watch if you have Anger Issues.
Disturbing video of Fulani kidnappers cladded in full military uniform showing their victims in the SouthEast.😭😭
May God save us🙏
There’s no strong evidence from the video that supports the claim that the incident happened in Nigeria’s Southeast.
Nairaland forum, an untrusted news channel in Nigeria, shared the screenshot of the post by @ejykmykel1 in November 2023.
Further checks indicated that LindaIkeji blog published this video in January 2024 and quoted another X user, Alpha De Great, who claimed that the incident happened in Akoko – Edo LGA forests.
Another blog published this story here
However, a thorough search by FACTWATCH Nigeria, there is no reputable news organization in Nigeria that reported the exact location of where the incident happened.
This Fact Checker was also unable to find credible news publications that stated the exact location.
Verdict
This claim by Sahara Reporters and many other WhatsApp users is MISLEADING. By recycling an old video from 2023, as recently. Although the location of where the abduction took place cannot be confirmed
