Old video of bandits used to incite fear 

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Mutalib Jibril

Claim: An X user @MR__Sulaiman1 shared a video purportedly showing bandits executing victims and leaving a survivor to caution Nigerians.

Verdict: Misleading. DUBAWA’s investigation revealed that the video clip is not recent. It has been online since Jan. 2025.

Full Text

The escalating frequency of kidnappers releasing videos of hostage torture to extort ransom has continued to intensify fear among Nigerians.

Amidst this, an X user, @MR__Sulaiman1, shared a video (archived here) claiming that bandits instructed their victims to tell Nigerians that they had killed one of them and the rest would be killed if the ransom wasn’t paid on time. 

The video, shared on June 9, 2026, captured two young men heavily shaken and being asked to confirm if their colleague was dead after being killed in their presence. 

The video caption reads, “Another video released by the bandits, the kidnappers are seen forcing the victims to speak directly to the camera. They instruct them to tell Nigerians that they have killed one of the victims, who was on the ground, and warn that if the ransom is not paid on time, they will kill the remaining hostages.”

In the video, the two young men were told that they would also die just like their fellow, further intensifying fear, tension and hopelessness in the victims. 

As of June 12, 2026, the video has amassed about 44,900 views, 271 likes, and 175 reposts, generating mixed reactions. While some users believed the claim, others countered that it is not recent.  

An X user, Akaaza (@akaazaayila), wrote, “You people are hell-bent. This happened years ago.”

One user, ÓMÒÉLÉRÍNJÁRÉ (@omoelerinjare), shared his reaction, describing the footage as “heartbreaking and terrifying.”

DUBAWA also found a longer version of the video on Facebook, showing moments of the purported execution.

Considering the video’s vitality and its potential to fuel fear in Northwestern Nigeria, we decided to verify it. 

Verification 

We examined the footage and found that the purported terrorists are speaking Hausa and making the exact statements described by the claimant. However, the video lacks any verifiable markers, such as a timestamp or date, to support the assertion that it is recent.

DUBAWA therefore extracted key frames from the video and subjected them to a Google reverse search. The result led to a similar video posted on Facebook on Jan. 5, 2025.  

The search also led to another Facebook post on Jan. 4, 2025, featuring scenes from the video. 

To further verify the recency of the claim, DUBAWA searched for supporting reports from reputable news outlets and security agencies’ communication channels. However, we found no reports in either 2026 0r 2025 to substantiate the video’s origin. 

Conclusion

The claim is misleading! Our findings showed that the video is not recent. The video dates back to Jan. 2025.

This fellowship is implemented by the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) with support from the European Union.