Flag of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Image source: Britannica.
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Claim: A Facebook user shared a video purporting to show residents of North Central Nigeria fleeing their communities after being chased away by bandits.
Verdict: False. The video shows civilians fleeing violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), not Nigeria. The video was misrepresented to support a claim about bandit attacks in North Central Nigeria.
Full Text
Bandit attacks remain a persistent security threat across several parts of Nigeria, with rural communities left to bear the brunt of such violence. Despite ongoing military operations and local security efforts, these incidents continue at a steady rate. Recent reports from states like Zamfara, Kaduna, Katsina, and others have shown repeated violence against communities that triggers concern.
A Facebook user shared a video (archived here) alleging that the people shown were community members from North Central Nigeria fleeing their communities due to bandit attacks.
The 24-second footage featured two clips. The top part showed a crowd of people moving with bags, as though they were migrating, while the bottom part showed a man explaining the situation in the video.
The narrator said, “Nobody will come outside to protest for this, but if it is Iran, Israel, or the United States, you all will come out with flags. You see now that bandits raided the North Central, but nobody came outside to protest.”
There was also an inscription in the middle of the post that reads: “Bandits chase full community in North Central.”
From the comments on the post, we found that many users believed the claim was true. @Michael Eneware wrote, “Are you talking to normal human beings or animals? The people you are talking about are animals who reason upside down.”
@Eze Derick added, “These same people are the ones screaming death to America and Israel, who want to save them. They have not yet seen anything.”
@Ebuka Nwaokorobia stated, “The monster they created will eat them.”
The author of the post, @Justice Mayor Backup, also made multiple remarks, including: “Pray for Nigeria,” “Nigeria needs help,” “Please share,” and “Stay safe.”
Given the claim’s sensitive nature and its potential impact, DUBAWA examined it.
Verification
DUBAWA submitted screenshots from the video to Google Lens to determine whether the footage was linked to any part of Nigeria. This led to a clearer version of the video shared on TikTok by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), in which people, consisting of men, women, and children, were moving with bags.
The caption attached to the video reads, “Violence is escalating in eastern DR Congo and devastating civilian lives. People are fleeing at alarming rates, including across the border into Burundi, where reception sites are overwhelmed. Humanitarian access is severely limited inside the DRC. Urgent support is needed.”
We also traced another post by the organisation on Instagram, where the same image of people moving was used as a cover for an explanatory video detailing the situation in Congo. The post explained that people fled violence in eastern DR Congo in search of safety and a chance to rebuild their lives. It further stated that more than 101,000 people have crossed into Burundi in the past two weeks in search of safety. It also added that more than 65,000 are now living at the Bweru/Busama site, a place that barely existed before.
The accompanying video showed displaced persons settling and moving within a refugee camp.
DUBAWA searched for reports linking the footage to North Central Nigeria but found none indicating that communities in the region were fleeing due to bandit attacks. The only recent verified incident involved attacks in Bauchi State, which is in the North-East.
The report also confirmed that communities in Mansur, Digare, Gwana, and surrounding areas in Alkaleri LGA were attacked by armed bandits, which forced residents to flee. Authorities in the region also acknowledged the incidents.
Conclusion
DUBAWA’s findings show that the video does not depict any incident in North Central Nigeria. Instead, the incident originates from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where civilians fled escalating violence to cross into Burundi.
