Uniformed men seen in video collecting fuel not Nigerian police officers
IN SHORT: Several social media users claim that the uniformed men shown in a viral video collecting fuel from a fallen tanker are Nigerian police officers. But this is incorrect.
"Wonder's shall never ends Nigeria police scooping fuel from tanker" reads part of a Facebook post dated 3 December 2024.
The post is accompanied by a video showing four men dressed in camouflage uniforms dipping polyethylene cans to collect what appears to be fuel from the wreckage of a fallen tanker. They are then seen loading the cans into a nearby Toyota Hilux vehicle.
Collecting fuel like this is dangerous and could lead to severe injuries or death, if the fuel vapours or leaks ignite.
The Nigerian police are often associated with corruption, extortion, abuse of power, and a lack of accountability. These issues have caused public distrust and ongoing demands for reform.
Similar posts can be found here, here, here and here.
But are the uniformed men in the video, collecting what appears to be fuel, police officers? We checked.
Police and other media organisations debunk claim
Africa Check searched online and found several reputable organisations debunking the claim in early December.
Our search also led us to the official website of the Nigerian Police Force, where an official statement debunking the claim was posted.
A part of the statement reads:
The viral video circulating in the media that depicts uniformed personnel in camouflage scooping fuel from the wreckage of an accidented tanker was just released to discredit the Nigeria Police Force.We strongly condemn the spread of such disinformation and unverified news and contents aimed at tarnishing or discrediting the image of the Nigeria Police Force.
Punch newspaper debunked the claim on 2 December, under the headline: "Uniformed men scooping fuel from crashed tanker not Nigerian policemen -NPF."
The report explained that the police force's public relations officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, issued a statement clarifying that the individuals in the footage were not Nigerian police officers but uniformed personnel from "a neighbouring francophone country", giving as evidence that the "captured officers were speaking in French, not a Nigerian language or English".
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The report included a screenshot similar to the video in the suspicious Facebook posts.
Several other reputable organisations also debunked the video here, here, here, and here.
