Claim: A Facebook user, Unfiltered Report Hq, shared a video alleging that Lakurawa terrorists stormed Niger State and threatened residents to accept Sharia or face attacks.
Verdict: Misleading! While media reports confirm that suspected Lakurawa fighters entered communities in the Borgu axis of Niger State to preach their ideology, the video circulating online is a compilation of unrelated footage, including a clip from Sudan’s civil war and old footage from Kebbi State.
Full Text
A Facebook user, @Unfiltered Report Hq, on June 23, 2026, alleged in a video (archived here) that terrorists had stormed Niger State communities and threatened residents to accept Sharia or face attacks.
“Accept Sharia Or Face Attacks: Lakurawa Terrorists Storm Niger State Communities,” the caption of the video reads.
Throughout the 19-minute, seven-second video, a voiceover narrator gives a detailed commentary alleging that persistent government negligence allowed the Lakurawa sect to fester, multiply, and expand into several societies across Nigeria.
As of Aug. 6, 2026, the video had garnered over 15,600 views, 283 likes, 104 shares, and 35 comments, generating mixed reactions from users.
A Facebook user, @Jeje Samuel, wrote in the comments section, “Our government is betraying us by allowing these guys to multiply, rather than reducing due to fear of being caught and killed instantly.”
@Godfrey Agia commented, “See people eating only drugs, threatening people. No life in them again.”
Another user, @Remi Eze, added, “They have been doing this to the Biafrans since 1966.”
Given the sensitive nature of the claim and its potential to cause panic, DUBAWA investigated it.
Verification
DUBAWA analysed the video using the InVID verification tool, extracting keyframes and subjecting them to reverse image searches.
An initial search on the primary frame revealed that the video clip shows an armed soldier standing in front of an army utility vehicle.
A manual inspection of the soldier’s attire revealed a national flag patch with horizontal stripes of red, white, and black, along with a green triangle on the hoist side.
A targeted Google search using the colour on the uniform confirmed that this corresponds to the national flag of Sudan.
Further visual analysis confirmed that the uniform belongs to Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), an armed paramilitary group that emerged from the Janjaweed militia and became a major party to Sudan’s ongoing civil war.
A reverse image search on another segment of the montage revealed footage of villagers fleeing an attack in the Bunza Local Government Area of Kebbi State, rather than an active invasion in Niger State.
A keyframe search on an image of a Nigerian military officer inserted into the video identified him as Major General Edward Buba, former Director of Defence Media Operations, during a press briefing at the Defence Headquarters in Abuja.
Another segment showing armed men on motorcycles was traced to a Facebook post citing reports of events in Zugurma, a community in Mashegu Local Government Area (bordering Mokwa LGA), Niger State, on Sunday, June 21, 2026.
According to community accounts, suspected members of the Lakurawa extremist group stopped along the main road, halted vehicular movement, and delivered a public sermon to residents before exiting through a primary school premises.
Did Lakurawa Infiltrate Niger State?
Media reports confirm that suspected Lakurawa fighters were sighted in parts of Niger State around June 2026. According to reporting by Daily Nigerian, The Informant247, and Daily Post, armed sect members entered communities around the Borgu axis, including Pissa, where they addressed congregations in local mosques to preach their doctrines.
The Niger State Government, via the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, had earlier reaffirmed its security commitment, noting that intelligence operations and tactical security reinforcements were deployed to Borgu and surrounding vulnerable borders to forestall criminal activities.
Conclusion
Although suspected Lakurawa members were documented preaching in parts of Borgu Local Government Area, the video shared by the Facebook user is misleading as it contains several unrelated clips.
This fellowship is implemented by the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) with support from the European Union.