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Claim: A Facebook user, Datti Assalafiy, posted a video claiming it shows atrocities committed by terrorists against people in the Gwoza area of Borno State.
Verdict: Misleading. While there was an attack on a community in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State, the video is old footage from Burkina Faso recorded in 2021.
Full Text
A Facebook user, Datti Assalafiy, on March 8, 2026, posted a video claiming to show atrocities committed by terrorists against the people of Gorza area of Borno State.
The caption was in Hausa language, and it reads: “RAYUWA KENAN. Koran da ‘yan ta’adda suka yiwa mutanen Arewa a yankin Gwoza na jihar Borno. Bayin Allah sun bar gidajensu basu san inda suka dosa ba. Gaskiya inda ace babu tashin kiyama da hisabi da mutanen Arewa sun cutu da yawa. Tabbas anci amana Tabbas akwai ranar hisabi. Allah Ka bamu mafita na alheri.”
When translated into English using Google Translate, the caption reads:
“LIFE IS A BREAKING NEWS: The atrocities committed by terrorists against the people of the North in the Gwoza area of Borno State. The servants of God left their homes and did not know where they were going…”
The video, as of March 10, 2026, has garnered over 433,000 views, more than 5,400 reactions, over 12,000 likes, about 2,500 comments, and more than 2,000 shares.
Some users reacting to the post expressed concern and frustration.
Tijjani Muhammad Kunya commented, “This has become normal in Nigeria. Tomorrow you will see that we have forgotten; tomorrow you will hear people praising Nuhu Ribadu.”
Another user, Sadam S Muhammad, wrote: “We that work in this area have a lot to say, but mouth or hand can’t spell… May Allah bring help to the people.”
Similarly, Sarkin Kuri’a commented: “Northerners must come out and defend ourselves. Because of votes, this government has shown that it can’t do it.”
The same video was reshared on March 9, 2026, by EAGLE EYE report with a different caption that reads:
“These are people who were displaced by Boko Haram terrorists from their homes in Borno State. Forget tribalism or political sentiment. Tinubu’s failure must be punished at the ballot.”
The claim surfaced following reports that Boko Haram militants launched an attack on the Ngoshe community in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State around March 4–6, 2026. Reports indicated that between 100 and 300 women and children were abducted, while some residents fled toward the Mandara Mountains as rescue efforts continued. Several soldiers were also reportedly killed while defending the base.
In response, President Bola Tinubu condemned the attack, describing it as “heartless,” and ordered intensified military operations as well as rescue efforts for the victims.
DUBAWA decided to fact-check the claim due to the severity of the reported attack in Gwoza and the potential for the video to incite tension or spread misinformation.
Verification
DUBAWA used the InVID plugin, a video verification tool, to analyse the footage and found that the clip is not recent.
Our investigation showed that the footage was recorded during the 2021 attack on Solhan village in Burkina Faso, where gunmen killed several civilians and forced residents to flee their homes. Over time, the clip has repeatedly resurfaced on social media and has been misrepresented in different contexts across Africa, particularly in regions experiencing ethnic tensions.
The earliest trace of the video was from a Facebook post published on June 8, 2021, by SAIDA International eV, a Germany-based charity organisation. The post, written in German, was accompanied by the hashtag #solhan. The post caption translates to:
“On the run in their own country: As if the people in Burkina Faso, one of the poorest countries in the world, did not already have enough to endure.”
This timeline corresponds with reports by Al Jazeera, which stated that more than 7,000 families fled Solhan in northern Burkina Faso after a deadly massacre.
Burkinabe online media outlet Lobs Paalga uploaded a longer version of the footage on YouTube.
The video has also previously been examined by fact-checking organisations, including DUBAWA, since 2021.
Conclusion
The claim that the viral video shows atrocities committed by terrorists against residents of Gwoza in Borno State is false. Findings show that the footage is from Solhan village in Burkina Faso, where civilians were attacked and displaced in 2021. The video has been repeatedly recycled online and falsely linked to different conflicts across Africa.
