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Claim: A Facebook page, Spy Nigeria, shared photographs of two suspected criminals alongside excerpts from the interrogation, presenting the case as a recent arrest.
Verdict: Misleading. The arrest is not recent. The suspect was arrested in August 2022 by the Niger State Police Command and paraded alongside other suspects in September 2022.
Full Text
A Facebook page, Spy Nigeria, on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, shared a post (archived here) featuring photographs of two men and excerpts from responses reportedly given by two suspected criminals arrested by the Nigerian Police.
The caption quoted one of the suspects saying, “For every 500 rounds of ammunition delivered to bandits, I am paid 100,000 naira. I have supplied ammunition to bandits in Madaki forest, Katsina; Maidaro forest, Kaduna; and Kwamba Maje area of Suleja. I get arms from one Abdul Mani in Taraba, who was killed in Kaduna earlier this year by security.”
As of Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, the post had attracted 33 likes, 12 comments and 11 shares.
DUBAWA observed that most commenters treated the incident as a fresh development. Olaibrahim Mohammed Eleha asked, “Why can’t the government trace his sources of the ammunition suppliers?”
Jummyest Simon wrote, “Can you imagine!! They who live by the sword shall surely die by the sword one day by the special Grace of God.”
A Facebook user, Amb Usman Muhammad Taofeeq, also reshared the post.
Given the country’s security situation and how false information peddlers have latched onto security matters in recent times, DUBAWA investigated the post to establish whether the arrest was recent or whether the photographs and information were from an earlier incident.
Verification
DUBAWA used keywords from the Spy Nigeria post, including the name Umar Shehu, the ₦100,000 payment claim and the locations allegedly supplied with ammunition, to search for reports about the arrest.
We found several reports published in September 2022, showing that the incident predates the September 2026 Facebook post by four years.
For instance, The Nation on Sept. 7, 2022, reported the arrest, stating that the Niger State Police Command paraded the 31-year-old Umar Shehu at its headquarters in Minna.
The report confirmed Shehu’s statements regarding the supply of ammunition to Madaki forest in Katsina, Maidaro forest in Kaduna, and Kwamba-Maje in Suleja, as well as his connection to a deceased arms dealer named Abdulmani.
Two other media platforms, The Conclave and Tori.ng, published reports about the arrest on Sept. 6 and 7, 2022, respectively. Both reports identified Umar Shehu as a 31-year-old suspected arms supplier arrested at Dikko Junction on Aug. 20, 2022, including the same details about his alleged ammunition supplies and ₦100,000 payment.
Conclusion
The claim that the two suspects were recently arrested for supplying arms to terrorists is misleading. Public records and news reports confirm that the suspect was arrested by the Niger State Police Command in August 2022 and paraded in September 2022.
This fellowship is implemented by the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) with support from the European Union.