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Claim: A Facebook user shared a video claiming it depicts a recent battle between the Nigerian Army and terrorists in northern Nigeria.
Verdict: False. DUBAWA found that the video had been posted online weeks before it was presented as a recent Nigerian military operation. Earlier copies of the same footage appeared on Facebook with captions in Oromo and Somali, languages predominantly spoken in Ethiopia and Somalia, respectively.
Full Text
A Facebook page, Issiaka the blogger, on Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026, shared a video alleging that it shows a recent battle between the Nigerian Army and terrorists in northern Nigeria.
The video shows armed security forces initially engaging a rival group in an open grassland. The men are seen exchanging gunfire with an opposing group that is largely not visible in the footage. They later move towards a bridge and cross it while the gun battle continues.
In the video captioned, “This is a real battle between the Nigerian army and the terrorists”, gunshots can be heard, while the men are also heard communicating in a language other than English.
Text embedded in the video also reads: “#BreakingNews! This is a recent battle between the Nigerian army and the terrorists in the Northern region of Nigeria.”
As of Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, the post had attracted 700 likes, 308 comments, 97 shares and 101 bookmarks.
Some commenters appeared to accept the claim as genuine. Nono Khosa wrote, “Meanwhile Nigerians are acting rich in SA.” Mamman Majirya stated, “Imagine this battle is true, why can’t they make air force reinforcement,” while Samuel Micah TV remarked, “May God bless Nigeria army.”
Because the post addressed the country’s security situation, DUBAWA investigated the footage to determine when it first appeared online and whether it was actually captured in Nigeria.
Verification
To analyse the video, DUBAWA first segmented the clip into keyframes, then ran them through reverse-image searches on Google Lens. The search revealed that the video is not recent and does not originate from Nigeria.
The first match was a Facebook post (archived here)shared on July 30, 2026, by a user identified as Urjii Lixaa. It contained the same footage and the caption: “Filmi kana daawwaadha Rafamee Wahifaan jedhee.”
A review of Urjii Lixaa’s Facebook page shows that the user identifies as a digital content creator based in Nekemt, Welega, Ethiopia, and has shared other videos showing military-style training.
The videos feature fighters in military-style uniforms, though some have distinctive dreadlocks associated with the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), suggesting the account may be linked to the group and its activities.
Google Gemini identified the caption as Oromo and translated it as “Watch this video, Rafamee Wahifaan said. Oromo is predominantly spoken in Ethiopia, particularly in the Oromia region, as well as parts of northern Kenya.
Another Facebook user, Generalka Reer Hiraan, posted the same video on Aug. 28, 2026. This version contained a different caption in the Somali language: “Kuwii weerarka soo qaaday ayaa orod ku soo galay buundada iyo webiga, waxayna hal daqiiqo gudaheed ku qabsadeen difaaca.”
Translated to English using Google Gemini, the text reads: “Those who launched the attack came running onto the bridge and the river, and within one minute they captured/took control of the defensive position.”
Somali is predominantly spoken in Somalia and Somaliland, as well as in parts of Djibouti, eastern Ethiopia and northern Kenya. The Somali-language description is particularly relevant because it refers to an attack involving a bridge and river, while the footage itself shows the armed men moving towards and across a bridge during the exchange of gunfire.
DUBAWA examined the personnel, weaponry, and geography in the footage.
The fighters were wearing camouflage patterns and webbing inconsistent with the Nigerian Army’s standard-issue camouflage and tactical gear. The footage also shows no institutional markings identifying the troops as members of the Armed Forces of Nigeria.
Conclusion
The claim that the video shows a recent battle between the Nigerian Army and terrorists in northern Nigeria is false. The video is recycled combat footage that circulated online in July and August 2026 with Oromo and Somali captions, depicting armed engagements in the Horn of Africa rather than Nigerian military operations.
This fact-check was produced as part of the DUBAWA fellowship, implemented by the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) with support from the European Union.