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Claim: A Facebook user shared a video of armed men in uniforms interrogating a man and claimed the video was filmed in Nigeria.
Verdict: Misleading. DUBAWA’s investigation found that the video is connected to Sudan, not Nigeria.
Full Text
On Sept. 15, 2026, a Facebook user, Lucky Okechukwu Biafra, shared a video (archived here) showing men in military uniforms interrogating a man, presumably a civilian. Two picture overlays appear in the top-right and bottom-left corners of the video.
The first picture quoted Garba Shehu as saying, ‘Boko Haram and Fulani bandits are Northern Nigeria Freedom Fighters.” The second picture claimed the Sultan of Sokoto condemned the killing of bandits and terrorists.
In the caption, Lucky called for a Biafra referendum, urging the United Nations to bring an end to the Sokoto Caliphate and Nigeria as a whole, and save lives.
The post’s caption reads, “#UN End Sokoto Fulani Caliphate Now. End Nigeria Now And Save Lives Now.”
As of Sept. 21, 2026, the post had garnered 3,000 views, five comments, 45 shares, and 125 likes.
Because of insecurity in the country, DUBAWA observed that some users who commented on the post believed the claim.
A Facebook user, Ebong Udofia, wrote, “What! Is the Sultan also a terrorist?”
Another user, Illyasu Muazu, commented in Arabic, “قتله?” which translates to “kill him,” although the user did not direct the word to anyone specifically.
Given the claim’s potential to spike tension, especially in Northern Nigeria, DUBAWA decided to verify the footage.
Verification
DUBAWA reviewed the video and observed some details. Our initial findings showed the clip depicts armed men in uniform standing in a circle, who appeared to interrogate a captured individual.
We also noticed the soldiers’ attire had a national flag patch with horizontal stripes of red, white, and black, along with a green triangle.
A separate Google search using the uniform colour confirmed that it corresponds to the national flag of Sudan.
DUBAWA observed that a dialect foreign to Nigerian ethnic groups was spoken in the recordings. We then subjected the audio to Google Gemini for language verification.
The tool identified the language as Sudanese Arabic. The transcription showed it was a video of a captured man being interrogated about his itinerary in the area.
DUBAWA then ran reverse image searches on keyframes to verify the video. We found that the footage was posted on Facebook earlier on July 25, 2026.
A review of the Facebook page shows that the user is based in Tambul, a city in central Sudan. The user is also very particular about posting videos relating to men in military uniforms.
Another verified Facebook user, Esmat Ismail Ali, with Sudan’s flag as a profile picture, shared the video on July 27, 2026.
A Sudanese online publication, Sudan War Monitor, included the same footage in a report on clashes and confrontations between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces.
The footage caption reads, “One of the Rapid Support Forces fighters is captured in the recent Kordofan battles…”
Meanwhile, in a recent development, the Sudanese Armed Forces said it has taken control of al-Mazroub in North Kordofan state after fierce battles with the RSF.
Sudan is currently experiencing a devastating civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by General Abdel al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by Mohamed Dagalo (known as Hemedti).
Conclusion
The video is from Sudan, not Nigeria, so linking it to Nigeria’s security situation is misleading.
This fellowship is implemented by the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) with support from the European Union.