Claim: Facebook users shared a video claiming it shows armed bandits recently raping an abducted woman.
Verdict: Misleading. DUBAWA found that the video is not recent. Available evidence shows that the video has been online since December 2020.
Full Text
A social media influencer, Aminu Abdullahi, shared a video on Facebook showing the sexual assault of a woman by armed men while the incident was being recorded. The influencer further claimed that the incident reflected a broader pattern of violence and called on national and international organisations to intervene.
The post (archived here) attracted more than 303,000 views, 1,600 comments, and 1,600 shares as of June 20, 2026.
The video has since circulated widely across Facebook, often accompanied by captions and screenshots suggesting that the incident occurred recently.
The claim generated strong reactions among social media users.
One user, Bello Ado, questioned the response of political leaders and security stakeholders in Zamfara, Sokoto and Katsina states, arguing that affected communities appeared abandoned despite having influential representatives in government.
“This is not supposed to be circulated,” another user, Zainulabidina Shehu, commented.
Similarly, a Facebook page known as Hausaland Magazine shared a screenshot of the same video and alleged that it showed a 56-year-old Hausa woman being raped by Fulani bandits in Sabon Birni Local Government Area of Sokoto State in the presence of her two children.
Given the video’s widespread circulation and the claims attached to it, DUBAWA investigated.
Verification
To determine the authenticity and timeline of the footage, DUBAWA traced the video’s digital footprint.
Using reverse image search techniques, DUBAWA located earlier versions of the video online.
We found a post published on Nairaland by a user identified as agboifeanyi242 on Dec. 17, 2020.
Further checks revealed that the Nairaland post referenced an article published on Dec. 16, 2020, on a website known as Gist Lobby, where the same video was embedded and circulated.
DUBAWA subsequently conducted keyword searches to determine whether the video was linked to any recent incident in Sokoto State or elsewhere in Nigeria.
We found no credible reports linking the footage to any incident in 2026.
While the exact circumstances surrounding the original recording remain unclear, earlier versions confirm it is not as recent as claimed by users currently sharing it.
Conclusion
The claim that the viral video shows a recent incident involving armed bandits raping an abducted woman is misleading. We traced the video to 2020.
This fellowship is implemented by the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) with support from the European Union.