Claim: An X user shared a video of Nigerians weeping, claiming they were weeping over rice shortage.
Verdict: Misleading! The video was filmed during the funeral of the Lagos NURTW secretary in July 2026.
Full Text
Nigeria continues to grapple with high inflation, which has increased food prices.
Amid this economic situation, an X user, @Sello_Libramon, shared a video (archived here) of some Nigerian men wheeling uncontrollably and claimed they were crying over the country’s rice shortage.
The post was captioned, “Nigerian men were seen breaking down in tears and crying as a result of the ongoing shortages of rice across Nigeria…”
A similar version of the claim was shared on Facebook.
As of Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, the video had generated over 97,000 views, 960 likes, 360 reposts, 240 bookmarks, and 90 quotes.
DUBAWA noticed that most users in the comments condemned Nigeria, believing the post was true.
@Kareen_green wrote, “I swear these people (Nigerians) are born retarded, after all that crying, they hop online and start telling us how wealthy they are.”
Another user, @WandileSzibaxa, asserted, “Nigerian politicians are actually evil. You can’t sleep well as a politician knowing your people are starving like this.”
Meanwhile, @TheBlacpioneer said, “There’s something seriously wrong with this country and its people.”
As part of DUBAWA’s efforts to ensure the media space is free of false information, we conducted this verification.
Verification
DUBAWA submitted screenshots of the video to a Google Reverse Image Search, which led us to similar videos shared on Instagram here and here, and on Facebook here and here.
These social media posts referenced the demise of Toba Ajiboye, who was the organising secretary of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Lagos State Council. Notably, one of the Facebook clips is linked to a reputable Nigerian newspaper, Guardian Nigeria.
Similarly, Television Continental (TVC) reported that the deceased’s family members and colleagues gathered in Lagos to pay their last respects.
We further conducted a keyword search surrounding the death of the Lagos NURTW secretary. Premium Times on Jul. 14, 2026, reported that the organising secretary of NURTW, Lagos State Council, Toba Ajiboye, popularly known as Ijaya, died after unidentified gunmen reportedly shot him in Lagos.
Punch Newspapers later reported that family members, colleagues, friends, and supporters, amidst tears, gathered to bury him in Ketu, Lagos State. The news outlet further stated that “viral videos” showed a large crowd of mourners paying their last respects to the former NURTW personality.
DUBAWA checked whether there was any credible report of Nigerian men allegedly weeping over a rice shortage, but found none.
Conclusion
DUBAWA’s findings show that the video is connected to the funeral proceedings of the NURTW secretary in Lagos State. Therefore, the claim is misleading.