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Claim: An X user shared a video claiming that a repentant Boko Haram member was caught attempting to supply ammunition to terrorists.
Verdict: Misleading! Media reports identified the apprehended individual as a soldier; however, there was no indication that he had been integrated into the Army from the Boko Haram terrorist group. Also, the video was filmed in 2022, and is not a recent development as portrayed.
Full Text
In 2022, the Borno State government announced the successful integration of former Boko Haram members back into the community. Three years later, in April 2025, over 390 Boko Haram members graduated from the government’s de-radicalisation, rehabilitation, and reintegration programme in Gombe State after months of training and rehabilitation.
The Chief of Defence Staff, Christopher Musa, described the exercise as the military’s initiative to curb insecurity in the country.
In a later development, an X user @Chude shared a video revealing some members of the Nigerian army body searching a former ex-Boko Haram militant who attempted to supply terrorists with ammunition.
Similar posts were shared on Facebook as seen here, here, and here.
As of Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025, the video has garnered over 54,000 views, 1,300 likes, 950 reposts, 173 bookmarks, and 81 quotes.
In the comment section, many users confirmed the claim to be true and criticised the government’s initial decision to reintegrate the former terrorist militants back into the community.
“Unfortunately, in the end, the soldiers who arrested him will be the ones to be humiliated and punished by the authorities,” @Afrisagacity commented.
“How can a country pardon and recruit terrorists into the Nigerian army?” @Henryobi queried.
“The Nigerian government is the biggest problem in Nigeria. This idiot is one of the so-called repentant Boko Haram,” @Forsby31 criticised.
Due to the issue’s sensitivity and the federal government’s favourable disposition to rehabilitating former terrorists, DUBAWA decided to fact-check the video.
Verification
DUBAWA subjected keyframes of the X clip to a Google Reverse Image Search. It linked us to a CEOAfrica report published in October 2022 concerning the clip in question.
The report stated that the former military man was apprehended by his colleagues in the Nigerian army for stealing and selling ammunition to criminal gangs and terrorist groups. The outlet identified the apprehended soldier as Iorliam Emmanuel.
DUBAWA further carried out an extensive keyword search for similar reports published by other news outlets concerning the matter. Punch also reported a similar account on Oct. 13, 2022, and mentioned that Emmanuel was apprehended while attempting to transport guns and ammunition to bandits.
The Cable also reported a similar story in 2022, adding that the suspect, who hails from Benue State, was handed over to the military intelligence for further investigation.
Other similar reports by media outlets in October 2022 can be accessed here and here. In these reports, there was no way Emmanuel was identified as a repentant Boko Haram member.
Conclusion
The claim is misleading, and the video has been online since 2022.
