Claim: A Facebook user claims drone footage of bandits is from Nigeria.
Verdict: Our findings show this video is not from Nigeria, as it first appeared as drone footage from Laikipia, Kenya.
Full Text
With recent events like the Abuja-Kaduna train attack, and the attempted attack on the Kaduna Airport, security has remained a top priority for many Nigerians.
On Tuesday, March 5, 2022, a member of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Joe Igbokwe, shared a video. He accompanied the video with the claim that it is a footage of bandits who have been kidnapping Nigerians.
“This is drone footage of armed bandits who have been kidnapping Nigerians. The footage shows them in their hideout in an unknown forest,” part of the post read.
This post already has over 1,000 shares and 31 comments.
We have also observed that this video is being shared on WhatsApp groups with different narratives on the location.
Verification
We looked at the video to understand its content and context but could not because the video had no audio. However, we observed there are five men in this video and one of the men was holding what looked like an AK-47.
A Google reverse image search on different frames of the video did not provide any helpful leads; therefore, we did a manual search.
On Facebook, we found posts with this video and its claim here, here and here. We also found a post on Twitter by AF News (@AFNewsNG) with the same claim.
However, we found a Facebook Post with a different narrative that this video is from Kenya.
“Bandits spotted by a super drone,” the post read.
A Twitter post by Madoka Kibet (@Madoka_ke) also contained the video below. This Tweet was, however, deleted shortly after it was found.
“Security Surveillance Drone ambushes Kalenjin bandits inside Baragoi forest. An Irritated bandit is seen unsuccessfully trying to shoot down the drone,” part of the Twitter post reads.
A YouTube video by Voice Tv Nigeria on Monday April 5,2022, noted this was a video of bandits spotted by a drone in Laikipia.
An earlier YouTube video by Trending Videos Kenya on Sunday, April 3, 2022, noted this was a video of Pikot bandits captured by a drone inside their hideout in Laikipia forest.
Laikipia is one of the 47 counties of Kenya located on the equator in the former rift valley province of the country.
Screenshot of Laikipia on Google Map
We also found a report by BBC pidgin which debunked the claim that this video was from Nigeria.
Conclusion
Our findings show this video is not from Nigeria; it first appeared as drone footage from Laikipia, Kenya. This makes the claim false.
