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Claim: An X user claimed a Christian family in Nigeria was forced to say the Shahada (Islamic profession of faith) and convert to Islam at gunpoint.
Verdict: Misleading! The video is of a family kidnapped in Kaduna by bandits, and there is no evidence of pressure to convert.
Full Text
Nigeria has experienced several years of violence involving armed groups, unknown gunmen, kidnappings, and clashes between communities, and has left many people exposed to persistent insecurity and displacement.
Amid the ravaging insecurity in the country, an X user, EYakoby(@Yakoby), shared a video (archived here) claiming that a Christian family in Nigeria had been kidnapped and was being forced to recite the Shahada, the Islamic declaration of faith, and convert to Islam at gunpoint.
“This is a Christian family in Nigeria that is being forced to say the Shahada and convert to Islam at gunpoint. How is there zero attention to what’s happening daily in Nigeria?”
Reacting to this post, another user, Mzb @mzb_ll, disagreed with the claim, noting, “You guys are not ashamed of sharing propaganda. Why are you deliberately changing the narratives?”
Another user agreeing with the claim wrote, “Where is the outrage from the pope? They need help from this part of the world”
As of Oct 17, 2026, the claim had garnered 334,200 views, 19,000 likes, 8100 quotes, and 1,100 bookmarks.
The post’s engagement and sensitive nature led DUBAWA to verify the claim.
Verification
We conducted a reverse image search on the video attached to the post, which led us to a Punch Newspapers article. The article said the husband, identified as Ahmed Zakka, was seen with his wife beside him, holding their child close.
The family was reportedly abducted from their residence in Millennium City, Kaduna State. He appealed to Nigerians for help, saying the kidnappers were demanding N300m for their release.
“They are requesting 300 million, and I don’t even know how to come by that money. Please, Nigerians should come to our aid for the sake of Allah,” Ahmed said.
TVC News also reported that unknown gunmen abducted the couple from their home in Kaduna.
Neither report reviewed provided evidence that the family was Christian or that the abductors were compelling them to convert to Islam. The available evidence instead links the footage to a documented kidnapping for ransom.
Conclusion
The video is real and shows a kidnapping-for-ransom case, not a forced conversion of religion as the X user claims.