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Claim: An X user shared an image with the claim that an Igbo man with ammunition was arrested in Lagos State.
Verdict: Misleading! The image shared by the claimant has been online since April 2022, and it is not a recent incident.
Full Text
In November, insecurity in Nigeria took a drastic turn as terrorists and unidentified criminals carried out incessant killings and kidnappings in various parts of the country.
In response to this, the Nigerian security personnel launched a crackdown on kidnappers and bandit hideouts, leading to the killing of some terrorists and the arrest of others.
Amidst this crackdown on criminal syndicates, an X user @Onsogbu, on Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, shared an image claiming that Rapid Response Squad (RRS) operatives had arrested an Igbo man with three locally made pistols in Lagos State.
The image was captioned, “Operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) have arrested the most wanted criminal and gang leader, Emeka Igwe (aka odogwu) at the Toyota bus-stop near Oshodi, Lagos. Three locally-made pistols were recovered from him.”
A similar post was shared on X here and Facebook as seen here, here, and here.
Meanwhile, the video accumulated over 194,000 views, 175 likes, 629 reposts, 118 bookmarks, and 48 quotes as of Friday, Dec. 12, 2025.
Reviewing the post’s comments, DUBAWA observed that most commenters believed the image to be authentic, evoking ethnic-aligned sentiments.
“An IPOB Christian gun runner was caught in Lagos with three pistols in his possession,” @Olu_las wrote.
Another user, @AjibadeTaj7186, asserted, “Let’s say the bastard eventually succeeded, he would have been claiming we built Lagos.”
On the contrary, @Shazamiste2222 stated, “This picture is an old one, I have seen it years ago on Twitter.”
Due to contrary opinions expressed by other X users regarding the authenticity of the claim and its potential to fuel tribal rivalry amid ongoing security issues in Nigeria, DUBAWA conducted this verification.
Verification
DUBAWA searched for the image on Google Reverse Image Search and found a report by The Nation, published on Apr. 30, 2022, that shared the same image as the claimant.
According to the report, the image is linked to 28-year-old Emeka Igwe, who the Lagos State Police arrested for theft during a traffic gridlock.
The report also noted that Emeka, who was the gang leader of a cult group “Aro-Baga” and other members, carried out robbery attacks on people at the traffic gridlocks.
Leaning on this available information, DUBAWA conducted a keyword search on other news outlets that reported the story in 2022.
Our search led us to publications by RipplesNigeria, Peoples Gazette, and Political Economist, all of which reported similar incidents in April 2022.
Conclusion
DUBAWA’s investigation reveals that the image of an armed suspect recently shared by a X user was taken in 2022. The claim is, therefore, misleading.
