Claim: A Facebook user, Prince Eniola Ojajuni, shared the image of a child, claiming he is dead and among children kidnapped in Kogi State.
Verdict: False. The image is unrelated to the reported Kogi State kidnapping incident and has been in circulation long before it.
Full Text
On May 30, 2026, a Facebook user, Prince Eniola Ojajuni, posted an image (archived here) alleging that the boy in the photograph had been killed and was one of the children kidnapped by suspected Fulani herdsmen in Kogi State.
The post’s caption reads, “This boy is dead already. One of the children that the Fulani herdsmen bandits kidnapped in Kogi state. So sad. May his soul rest in peace.”
The post has since generated engagement, including nine reshares, 49 likes, and six comments.
Some users believed the claim and expressed outrage.
Prince Dadi wrote: “How could a sane person tie up a child this way? I am beginning to believe that the wrath of God is upon this nation…”
Another user, Raimi Muideen Adesola Omoniyi, said: “Why are you always spreading fake news to gain attention? You should do better than this because of your reputation.”
Blessing Edeh also commented, “They will tell you that the picture has been around for 50 years. Wicked folks!”
The post was also shared on other Facebook pages and accounts, here and here.
A Facebook user further circulated the image, linking it to ongoing school kidnappings in Nigeria.
DUBAWA fact-checked the claim due to renewed public concern over the rising cases of school abductions in the country.
Verification
DUBAWA conducted a keyword search into recent kidnapping incidents in Kogi State and found that the latest reported case occurred in April. On April 26, 2026, suspected bandits abducted 26 persons (24 pupils and two wives of a school proprietor) from Daarul Kitab, an unregistered Islamic school and orphanage in Zariagi, Lokoja, Kogi State.
The Kogi State Government confirmed that the facility was operating illegally in a remote location without registration or prior security clearance. Security agencies, including the Nigeria Police Force, launched rescue operations to recover the victims and apprehend the attackers.
Authorities later confirmed that all abducted victims were rescued in two phases. First 17 pupils were rescued shortly after the incident through swift intervention by security operatives, while the remaining nine victims (five boys, two girls, and two adult females) were rescued in a joint operation by the Nigerian Army’s 12 Brigade and other security agencies in the Agbaja Forest axis.
Further verification via reverse image search showed that the image in question has been circulating since April 19, 2026. This was seven days before the Kogi kidnapping incident.
The image was also previously used online here, here, here, here, and here in unrelated contexts, including false narratives of paternity fraud.
Conclusion
The claim that the image shows a victim of the Kogi State school kidnapping is false. Our findings reveal the image predates the incident and has been misused online in unrelated contexts.