False! No recent report of Boko Haram’s attack in Abia State

Claim: An X user (formerly Twitter) shared an image alleging that Boko Haram recently abducted some Nigerians in Abia State.

Verdict: The image, dated July 13, 2014, shows Boko Haram’s Abubakar Shekau pledging allegiance to the Islamic State and not an attack on Abia State. This renders the claim false.

Full Text

The issue of Boko Haram has been a persistent case in Nigeria. The operations of this terrorist group, which gained widespread notoriety in 2009, have caused the abduction of people and the loss of many lives. Misinformation has not been far from this, as many false narratives have been shared claiming certain activities by the group. See some samples of claims fact-checked by DUBAWA  here, here, here, and here.

A post shared on June 3, 2024, features a photo of armed individuals dressed in military fatigues, with military vehicles in the background. The individual in the foreground is holding a blank sheet of paper, appearing to read a statement.

The text accompanying the image, which was initially written in French, reads, “Nigeria / Vingt militaires et 71 civils ont été tués et 190 personnes kidnappées dans une attaque du groupe #Boko Haram contre le poste de contrôle d’Aba dans l’État d’Abia.”

This translates to, “Nigeria / Twenty military personnel and 71 civilians killed and 190 kidnapped in Boko Haram attack on Aba checkpoint in Abia State (…).”

At the time, the post had 13,900 views, 23 comments, 35 shares, 218 likes, and four bookmarks.

Many people in the comments seemed to affirm what the post asserted.

@SamajesteTP, for instance, said: “It’s shameful for Nigeria! Unable to get rid of Boko Haram but wants to go to war with Niger! Africa has an incredible talent!”

@Marilyn_Sidis added: “A country that is not strong enough cannot control all its territory, and if a country cannot control all its territory, there will always be rebels or terrorists who will cowardly take the lives of innocent people. Can Nigeria control all its space?”

DUBAWA decided to verify the claim’s authenticity as part of its mandate to combat misinformation.

Verification

A reverse image search with Google Lens points to this article, published on September 29, 2014, titled “Deadly Boko Haram assault in Mainok, northern Nigeria.” 

The article published along with the photo of the claim  came with the following caption: “In this video released by Boko Haram on July 13, the group’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, pledges allegiance to ISIS.”

Members of the Islamist movement Boko Haram attacked the market in the town of Mainok in northeast Nigeria on Friday, September 19. They evaded a crowded market in the middle of the day, killing many people. 

This other article, posted online on March 7, 2015, reports the same information and includes Abubakar Shekau‘s allegiance video.

The same search also led DUBAWA  to an article posted online on September 13, 2016, with the headline “Boko Haram weakened by infighting and military setbacks.” The image’s caption, the same one we are checking, reads: “Abubakar Shekau, now-contested leader of Boko Haram (January 2015). (AFP/HO/Boko Haram video).”

A Google search for the keywords: “Boko Haram group attack on Aba checkpoint in Abia State, Nigeria” yielded no conclusive results. However, an article published on May 30, 2024, reports that “Nigeria has announced the death of 12 people in an armed attack on a popular market in Nigeria’s Kaduna State on Wednesday.”

 Conclusion 

According to revelations from DUBAWA’s investigations in the preceding paragraphs, the X post with an image claiming to show a Boko Haram attack on a checkpoint in Nigeria in 2024 is false. 

The researcher produced this fact-check per the DUBAWA 2024 Kwame KariKari Fellowship, in partnership with Prime Progress, to facilitate the ethos of “truth” in journalism and enhance media literacy in the country.