Claim: A viral video making rounds on social media claims that Boko Haram is forcefully converting commuters in Niger State in Nigeria into islam
The viral claim that Boko Haram is forcefully converting commuters in Niger State of Nigeria is false. Shreds of evidence showed that the purported event actually took place in Kolia, Ivory Coast, during a crusade that was hosted by a certain female cleric. Hence, the video was taken out of its original context to paint a different narrative.
Full text
One topical security issue that has dominated news over the past weeks is the announced presence of Boko Haram in a number of communities in Niger State.
This has aroused concern amongst many Nigerians exposed to a a video making rounds on Twitter, WhatsApp and other social media platforms alleging that the communities held by Boko Haram in Niger State are now being forced to convert to Islam by the terror group, Boko Haram.
The claim was shared multiple times on WhatsApp, apparently arousing people’s outrage over the said situation.
The video has also made an appearance on Twitter, after it was tweeted by Femi Fani-Kayode who later acknowledged in a subsequent post that the acclaimed incident did not happen in Niger State, Nigeria.
Femi Fani-Kayode’s tweet as regards the claim in question
Notwithstanding, multiple reactions to the claim showed a wide range of believability, a minimal skepticism from some users, and just a few contrary opinions by other users.
The sensitivity of security issues in Nigeria is like a ticking bomb that requires quick and prudent attention. It is as a result of this reality that DUBAWA opted to uncover the verity of this claim.
Verification
While the governor of Niger State has already debunked the claim, stating that it was fake news, the details of clarification neither stated where the conversion ceremony took place.
However, DUBAWA uncovered that the purported video was taken out of its original context to paint a misleading story.
It was originally shared on Tik Tok by a user (@brahimakone49) as part of a collection of videos that were posted to depict an apparent Islamic crusade that commenced on 29th of April 2021 in the town of Kolia, Ivory Coast.
The user, @brahimakone49 who originally shared the video on Tik tok took time to respond to other users who needed clarification on the actual event the video depicted. He confirmed that it took place in Kolia, Ivory coast and stated clearly that it was a crusade held by a certain female Muslim cleric who was performing healing sessions on the crowdin the video.
In clip 9 of the video collection, when a commenter (@banfana banfana) asked what was actually happening in the scene, the actual source replied that all the people present came to be treated in Kolia by the woman who works miracles.
Also in clip 9, when asked by another user (@Toure Deed) where it took place, the publisher clearly stated that it took place in Kolia, Ivory coast.
Throughout the comment box, the actual author of the video collection repeatedly mentioned that it took place in Kolia, Ivory coast and explained generally that the event was a healing session held by a certain female Islamic cleric who is seen speaking in subsequent clips of the video.
Image 1
DUBAWA uncovered that the acclaimed video making rounds on social media was merely the 10th out of a series of 11 videos shared by the original source.
Image 2
The username of the original source is highlighted green above in one of the purported claims making rounds. The same username could be traced in image 1. While the writing ‘partie 10’ outlined in blue, shows the sequence number of the video amongst total 11 of the collection originally shared, as it can be seen in image 3 below.
Image 3
These are the rest of the collection the purported video was selected from to paint a new and misleading narrative. All highlighted yellow in the center of each clip.
Nonetheless, to have a further grasp of the context, content and reality of the actual video shared on Tik tok the link to all the clips are presented below:
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11
Additionally, seven other clips shared by the same author giving the actual event an even more glaring context are shared here:
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, part 7
Also notable was the Baoulé dialect and a little bit of French spoken throughout the duration of the clips. While French is the official language of Ivory Coast, Baoule is also a major language spoken in the country.
Conclusion
The video circulating on social media alleging that Boko Haram is forcing commuters in Niger State of Nigeria to convert to Islam is false. The purported footage was taken out of its original context of 11 videos and used to depict an entirely untrue narrative.
