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Claim: A Facebook video shows Trump promising to free the people of Biafra from the Nigerian government.
Verdict: False! DUBAWA’s findings show that the video was manipulated to drive a false narrative. We discovered that the original version was released in Jan. 2021, during the election period that led to Joe Biden’s victory as the 46th president of the United States. The video has nothing to do with Nigeria.
Full Text
The 1967 attempt for the secession of the former “Republic of Biafra” – now the five states of the South-East – led to Nigeria’s Civil War in 1967.
Nnamdi Kanu, a prominent figure leading a renewed movement agitating for Biafra’s independence through the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has been remanded on charges of treason. His leadership has garnered support, particularly among younger generations who feel marginalised by the Nigerian government.
On Feb. 11th, 2025, Olivercan Ezeigwe, a Facebook user, posted a video with a caption that claims Donald Trump, the American president, has started making moves to address the secessionist movement of the Igbos in Nigeria.
“The current president of the United States, Donald Trump, has now decided to look into the Biafra in Nigeria so they can be independent,” Olivercan wrote.
In the clip, Trump could be heard saying that he would turn to Nigeria for the liberation of the Igbos after he is done interfering in the war between Russia and Ukraine.
“These people have suffered in the hands of the northern Muslim-dominated volks who continue ripping the natural resources of southern Nigeria, mainly the people of the United States of Biafra and Nnamdi Kanu. The Biafran leader should be released immediately,” he allegedly said.
Since it was posted, the video has gained over 930 likes, 3,000 shares, and 390 comments, with some users believing its authenticity while others remain doubtful.
For instance, Don Micky asked with curiosity, “Is this not AI talking?”
Another Facebook user, Ezike Doris, said, “God bless you, Donald Trump. Please remember the Biafra people.”
“Doctored video,” added Njoku Christian, another user.
DUBAWA conducted this fact check to ascertain the claim’s validity and calm the rising controversy.
Verification
In the viral clip, Trump didn’t sound like his usual self. His voice had a robotic tone and pitch, just as his mouth movements, gesticulations, charisma, and grammar were inconsistent. These are common features of manipulated videos.
DUBAWA subjected the clip to Deepware, a video analysis tool, and the results showed that the video was 82% deepfake.
We took screenshots of some scenes and conducted a reverse image search. The result led us to the original version where Trump, as the 45th President of the United States, addressed Americans on Jan. 14, 2021. During the heat of the election period, this eventually led to Joe Biden’s emergence as the 46th president.
Trump was recorded describing acts of violence and vandalism as going against everything his movement stood for.
“No true supporter of mine could ever endorse political violence. No true supporter of mine could ever disrespect law enforcement or our great American flag. No true supporter of mine could ever threaten or harass their fellow Americans. If you do any of these things, you are not supporting our movement; you are attacking it, and you are attacking our country. We cannot tolerate it,“ Trump warned.
In addition to the distortions identified earlier, the manipulated version is 26 seconds long, while the original video is 5 minutes and 13 seconds long. Beyond these differences, we also spotted several similarities: Trump’s outfit in both versions, the golden curtains in the background, the national flags, the chair Trump sat on, the desk, and the blurry portraits of a man and a woman in the right corner of the room.
Screenshot of the doctored video Vs the original version of the video.
Conclusion
The viral video of Trump promising to make Biafra independent was manipulated to paint a false narrative.
