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Claim: A Facebook user, Ibrahim Sani, shared an image depicting the arrest of one of the attackers of Dekara village in Borgu, Niger State.
Verdict: Misleading! The individual in the image was arrested in Ilorin, Kwara State, not Borgu, Niger State.
Full Text
In August 2026, armed men attacked a mosque and surrounding villages in Niger State, according to media reports. The raiders kidnapped dozens of people from the Kpenya Mosque in the Dekara district of Borgu Local Government Area, and from Gidan-Zana and Kpenya villages.
A Facebook user, Ibrahim Sani, posted an image (archived here), claiming it shows one of the Dekara attackers arrested by local vigilantes in Borgu. The image showed the arrested suspect alongside two AK-47 rifles, three magazines, and 42 rounds of live ammunition.
The post’s caption reads, “Good news: local vigilantes arrest one member of Dekara attackers in Borgu. He was caught supplying arms to them despite our people still being in captivity at the hands of the bandits. Let our security do the needful.”
The image, posted on Oct. 10, 2026, had garnered 14 likes and three comments.
A Facebook user, Abdullahi Isah, commented, “Our security go set him free….. No be Nigeria.”
Another user, Og Abduramanu, talked about the suspect’s physical disability, saying, “Man with no leg.”
Because of the post’s sensitive nature, DUBAWA decided to verify.
Verification
Google reverse image search traced the image to the arrest of a suspected gun-runner in Ilorin, Kwara State.
The search returned several other earlier posts containing the image. The image was also used in reports about the arrest of a suspected gun-runner in Ilorin, Kwara State.
For instance, Punch Newspapers published a report on the same incident on Oct. 5, 2026. The image caption explained that the suspect was arrested with two AK-47 rifles, three magazines, and 42 rounds of live ammunition in Ilorin, Kwara State.
Daily Trust also published the same image on Oct. 5, 2026, saying the arrest followed the discovery of a bag containing firearms and ammunition in a commercial vehicle during a stop-and-search operation along the Alapa–Okolowo axis of Ilorin.
Angle360news published the same image on Oct. 6, 2026, in connection with the arrest in Ilorin, Kwara State.
Meanwhile, in a statement on Oct. 5, 2026, the state police spokesperson, Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, confirmed the suspect’s arrest.
Conclusion
The claim that the image depicts one of the arrested attackers of Dekara village in Borgu is misleading. Findings show that the suspected gun-runner was arrested at the Alapa–Okolowo axis in Ilorin, Kwara State.
This fellowship is implemented by the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) with support from the European Union.