Nigeria: Old Video From India Falsely Shared As Showing Villagers in Nigeria's Sokoto State Destroying Solar Panels

13 August 2026
Africa Check (Johannesburg)
By Muktar Balogun

Old video from India falsely shared as showing villagers in Nigeria's Sokoto state destroying solar panels

IN SHORT: A video is circulating on Facebook in late July 2026, with the claim that it shows villagers in Sokoto state, Nigeria, destroying solar panels. But the video was taken in 2018 at a solar power plant in Maharashtra state, India.

A video circulating on Facebook shows a group of people smashing the surface of solar panels in what appears to be a solar panel plant.

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According to users who posted it, residents in Sokoto state, northwestern Nigeria, destroyed the panels because they believed they were preventing rainfall.

One post, dated 30 July 2026, reads: "Happening somewhere in Sokoto where the villagers believe that the solar panels have blocked the rain from falling. If you think education is evil, try ignorance."

Solar panels convert sunlight into electricity and are becoming increasingly popular in Nigeria as the country continues to grapple with unreliable electricity supply, particularly in rural areas.

The same claim and video were found here, here and here.

But does the video show villagers in Nigeria's Sokoto state destroying solar panels? We checked.

Video from India

Africa Check ran a screenshot from the video through Google Lens and found that it first appeared online in 2018.

We found the exact video posted on YouTube on 18 February 2018, with the caption: "Destruction of solar panels in India. People destroy solar panels in India."

Another YouTube video posted on 15 February of the same year also identified the location of the incident as Maharashtra, a state in western India.

Other fact-checking platforms have also traced the footage to India.

The claim that the video was taken in Nigeria is false.

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. X @AfricaCheck and www.africacheck.org

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