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Claim: Social media users claim a video of a schoolgirl handling a gun was filmed in northern Nigeria.
Verdict: False. Our investigations reveal the video was recorded in Uganda, not northern Nigeria.
Full Text
A viral video of a schoolgirl assembling and dismantling a rifle has sparked debate on social media. Some social media users have claimed the footage was recorded in Nigeria.
The 36-second clip shows the girl participating in what seems to be a group exercise while a man speaks in the background in an African language.
On March 17, 2025, a Facebook user, Kalu Okore, shared the video with the caption, “SEE WHAT NORTHERN PRIMARY/SECONDARY SCHOOLS ARE BEING TAUGHT AS THEIR PRACTICAL.”
As of March 21, 2025, the post had garnered 35 likes, 18 comments, and 92 shares.
Some commenters criticised the Nigerian government, accusing it of ignoring the situation, while others argued that the video was not from northern Nigeria but rather from South Sudan.
A user, Ugwuoke Leonard Amaogechi, expressed frustration, stating, “The Nigerian government will see this and pretend as if they didn’t. If something like this happened in Igbo land, hmmmmmmm…”
Similarly, Edward Mac questioned the authorities, writing, “Where is the Nigerian government? This is a way of training terrorism in northern Nigeria.”
However, Aliyu Zakari-Jiya dismissed the claim, countering, “Misinformation. Which school in the north dresses like this without a headscarf? This is from South Sudan. Stop spreading disinformation.”
The 36-second video was also shared on WhatsApp with the caption, “This is Northern Nigeria. The government is not doing anything about it. Shame on the government.”
DUBAWA chose to fact-check the video due to its virality and potential to spread misinformation and incite tension.
Verification
DUBAWA analysed the video using InVid WeVerify and discovered that it had been shared by multiple Facebook users, most of whom are not from Nigeria.
Some notable posts include March 11, 2025 – Anyamah Wa Anyamah shared the video with the caption: “Hii ni CBC ya North Uganda ama South Sudan? Wanapeleka syllabus mbio sana. Tough Luo girl.”
Google Translate said, “Is this CBC of North Uganda or South Sudan? They are moving the syllabus very fast. Tough Luo girl.” Google Translate identified the language as Swahili.
On March 11, 2025, George Mitigoa posted the same video with the caption: “Competency-Based Curriculum in South Sudan.”
On March 12, 2025, Alinur Mohamed shared it with the caption: “This is how CBC works in other countries. Si kama hii yetu watoto wanavalishwa magunia.”
Google translated this to, “This is how CBC works in other countries. It’s not like ours, where children are dressed in sacks.” Again, the detected language was Swahili.
Since multiple posts referenced South Sudan and North Uganda, DUBAWA reached out to journalists in these countries to verify the language in the video. The journalist clarified that the language is not from South Sudan, adding that no such dialect is spoken there.
DUBAWA consulted a journalist in Uganda to verify further the claim, who confirmed that the video was from northern Uganda. The journalist said, “I have consulted my colleagues, and they identified the language as Acholi. The video is indeed from Uganda. The translation of the audio is: ‘People say using a gun is very hard, but you can see how my sister is handling it easily.’”
Acholi, also called Lwo or Leb Acoli, is a Southern Luo dialect spoken by the Acholi people in northern Uganda. It is primarily used in the districts of Gulu, Kitgum, Amuru, Lamwo, Agago, Nwoya, Omoro, and Pader, collectively known as Acholiland.
Conclusion
Findings reveal that the video was not filmed in Northern Nigeria but in Northern Uganda.
