Nigeria: Old Video of Suspected Terrorists Entering Nigeria Not From 2024, As Claimed Online

10 October 2024
Africa Check (Johannesburg)
By Denzel Amobi

Old video of suspected terrorists entering Nigeria not from 2024, as claimed online

IN SHORT: According to social media posts, there is a "mass arrival of Fulani terrorists into Nigeria" in 2024. But the video used to support this claim is from 2018.

Several Facebook posts claim that Fulanis have infiltrated Nigeria and that Nigerians should be vigilant.

Part of one post, dated 12 September 2024, reads: "A BBC Investigative Journalist discovers the arrival of Jihadists linked to Al-Qaeda from other African countries through Benin Republic. They have taken over Kainji Forest."

The post includes a video of a group of men wearing jackets and headgear with firearms slung over their shoulders.

The video is dubbed with a woman speaking in the Hausa language, spoken widely in northern Nigeria.

According to the Vanguard newspaper, she says: "These persons in the video were migrating from Benin Republic to Nigeria."

Terrorism and banditry remain a serious threat to Nigeria. Attacks by groups such as Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen often leave a trail of death and widespread displacement, destruction of property and resulting poverty.

Posts with the same claim and video can be found here and here. (Note: See more instances of the claim at the end of the report.)

But is the claim true? We checked.

Video from 2018

Africa Check looked for the video on BBC Hausa, but could not find it.

We then conducted a keyword search which led us to news stories from June 2024, including a tweet by the Nigeria Police Force.

On 27 June, the Nigerian police warned that the video was not recent.

"The Nigeria Police Force hereby addresses a trending video depicting a group of persons suspected to be armed terrorists carrying assault rifles and other dangerous weapons with a commentary in Hausa language," the police tweeted.

"After thorough and detailed video graphic analysis conducted by the NPF Cybercrime Centre, it has been confirmed that the video in question was originally created and circulated on 28th May 2018."

The Facebook posts are false and there are no BBC reports that corroborate the allegations.

The same claim was also posted here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Read the original story, with links and other resources.
Africa Check is a non-partisan organisation which promotes accuracy in public debate and in the media. Twitter @AfricaCheck and www.africacheck.org

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