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Claim: Simon Ekpa tweeted an image showing the corpses of Nigerian soldiers allegedly eliminated by Biafra’s men.
Verdict: Mr Ekpa’s image has no connection with Nigeria or its military, and the narrative depicted is misleading.
Full Text
On July 25, 2024, Simon Ekpa, a self-acclaimed separatist agitator of the Indigenous People of Biafra, posted two images on his X handle with laughing emoticons. The first showed three dead men in military uniform inside a bush and the second showed a heap of half-bitten mangoes.
These images have since gone viral with various captions depicting the corpses as men of the Nigerian army killed during an attack on IPOB (The Indigenous People of Biafra) soldiers.
For instance, @MidBrgie, a user, mocked the deceased soldiers with his repost, saying that “the Zoo terrorists of the Nigeria military went to EAT maņgo and slept off.”
The terms “Zoo and Terrorists” are how supporters of IPOB describe Nigeria and its soldiers, respectively.
Upholding this story, “Biafra War Room,” another user said the soldiers were killed while destroying “Biafra’s land,” killing their women and children.
“You saw them been deployed in our land to kill our women and children, burning down our houses shops & to kill at will, but BLA / BDF eliminated the threat,” he wrote in his post.
Known for inciting violence in South-Eastern Nigeria through his sit-at-home orders, the Finish-based Mr Ekpa was declared wanted by the Defence Headquarters in March 2024. Over the years, DUBAWA has debunked multiple claims posted on his social media handles.
Due to the inciting nature of the post and Mr Ekpa’s reputation, we decided to verify the image shared.
Verification
We reverse-searched the image and found it linked to a recent face-off between soldiers and terrorists at a military outpost in the Savanes region of northern Togo.
As reported by Journal Du Togo, a Togolese newspaper, the said terrorists launched this attack on July 20, 2024, killing 12 Togolese soldiers, injuring several, and “taking away and destroying military equipment and weapons.”
In the process, the Togolese army also neutralised 40 of the attackers.
Conclusion
The image posted by Mr Ekpa has no connection with Nigeria or its military. The narrative also used to portray the incidence is misleading.
