Parody account falsely links Mali terrorist invasion to Ahoro-Esinle, Oyo State

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Sunday Awosoro

Claim: X user shared a video claiming to show gunmen invading Ahoro-Esinle, a community near Ogbomoso in Oyo State, for the second time.

Verdict: False! Since the kidnapping event on May 15, 2026, Ahoro-Esinle has not experienced any other incursions by gunmen. The video used originated from a terrorist attack in Mali that occurred in April 2026. 

Full Text

On May 15, 2026, armed men attacked Ahoro-Esinle and surrounding communities in the Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State. They abducted 39 students, seven teachers, and killed two people while at it.

While the hostages are still in custody, several users on X posted a video claiming that another invasion was happening in Ahoro-Esinle. The video showed a group of heavily armed men on motorcycles who parked on the road as if stopping to rest. 

On June 11, 2026, an X parody account of self-acclaimed Nigerian activist, Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, shared a post  (archived here) claiming there was an attack on Ahoro Esinle community in Oriire Local Government Area, near Ogbomoso.

The post also claimed 25 Nigerian army personnel, alongside “many people,” were killed in this alleged attack.

“ALERT: A live recorded attack reportedly linked to armed Fulani militants has surfaced from Ahoro Esinle community in Oriire Local Government Area, near Ogbomoso.

The incident is said to have resulted in multiple civilian deaths, alongside claims that about 25 Nigerian soldiers were also killed, though official confirmation is still pending,” the post reads. 

The post as of Wednesday, June 24, 2026, had garnered 25,000 views, 169 likes, 64 retweets and 26 comments. 

DUBAWA has previously caught the same account spreading false narratives.

Other X and Facebook users shared the same video as seen here, here, here, here and here. 

While many believed it to be true, others, like Segun Oliyide, a Facebook user, questioned its authenticity.

“Please confirm this news. I just called a friend close to that place, and he said, nothing like that is happening there. Please pull this down,” Segun wrote.

“You are not helping matters if unverified news like this keeps spreading,” Dinma Isaac, another Facebook user, wrote.

DUBAWA conducted this fact check due to the claim’s virality and sensitivity.

Verification

We conducted a keyword search but found no report of any recent gun invasion in Ahoro Esinle apart from the May 15, 2026.

We broke the footage into keyframes and conducted reverse image searches. The results linked us to the original version, which showed a terrorist attack in Kati, near Bamako, the capital city of Mali.

According to The EastAfrican Newspaper, the video was captured as the gunmen moved through the streets of Kati on April 25, 2026, after attacking four other towns. 

DW reported that the Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), in coordination with the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), claimed responsibility for the attack. 

Abdoulaye Coulibaly, the Governor of Bamako, declared a 72-hour curfew following the strike that also led to the death of Mali’s Defence Minister, Sadio Camara.

The same footage was shared by Al Jazeera and NexusOsint, an open-source intelligence platform on X, with a similar narrative. 

Conclusion

Apart from the May 15 attack, there has been no other gun attack in Ahoro-Esinle. The video used in this claim was taken from an April 2026 terrorist attack in Mali. The claim is therefore false.