Fact CheckSecurity

Video used to depict unrest in Abuja was shot in Ivory Coast

Claim: A user on Facebook claims unknown gunmen in Abuja have chased away security men on the boundary between Nigeria and other countries. 

Video used to depict unrest in Abuja was shot in Ivory Coast

The claim that unknown gunmen in Abuja have chased away security men on the boundary between Nigeria and other countries is false. The video used to depict the narrative was dated and taken out of context to misinform the public. 

Full Text

A user on Facebook shares footage  of a crowd running from an apparent danger.  The footage is posted alongside a narrative that claims an  ongoing tension between security men and some unknown gunmen in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria. 

Video used to depict unrest in Abuja was shot in Ivory Coast
The claim 

“Nigeria Falling Apart; breaking:  unknown gunmen in Abuja chase security men away from the boundary between Nigeria’s neighbouring countries. With heavy multiple gunshot..

Shame On #BBC fake News Media, Journalists Without soul

#FreeBiafra

#FreeNnamdiKanuNow

#EndNigeria

#SaveLives https://t.co/lrGW6YHDRc,” the post read.”

The same post was also shared on Twitter by the same user, Samuel Henry Okonkwo with the tag #freeBiafra, #endNigeria, etc. The post has attracted multiple views across both Facebook and Twitter. 

Video used to depict unrest in Abuja was shot in Ivory Coast
A screenshot of the same claim by the same user on Twitter

This is not the first time DUBAWA has fact checked false claims from this particular user, especially around contents that are Pro-Biafran. 

The Biafran separatist group, also known as the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) have been clamouring for an independent state since 1966. This  led to the Nigerian civil war that started in  1966 to 1970, causing the death of millions of lives. 

Many years later, the war seemed to have  planted a seed of mistrust between the people of Igbo extraction in the southeastern part of Nigeria and those of Hausa-Fulani extraction from the north, which is still growing sporadically. 

Consequently this alleged video maybe a ticking time bomb, particularly with the recent violence that had erupted in Dei Dei, a satellite area in Abuja, over the death of an Igbo woman who fell from a taxi motorcycle driven by a Hausa man. 

Verification 

When DUBAWA ran a frame fragmentation of the alleged video on InVid video verifier, the results revealed the alleged footage has been in circulation since 2020. 

Apparently, this is not the first time the footage is used to spread disinformation.  In 2020, during the Edo gubernatorial elections,  the video was falsely  used to depict an ongoing electoral violence in Benin City, Edo state.   

Originally, the video was captured in Ivory Coast back in 2020,  when citizens took to the streets to kick against   Alassane Ouattara’s bid to contest for a third term in office as president.  The footage was filmed during the unrest  and was tweeted by France-based media outlet LSi Africa on August 7, 2020, that same day. 

Video used to depict unrest in Abuja was shot in Ivory Coast
 A screenshot of LSi tweet featuring the same acclaimed video 

Noticeably, the claimant alleged the scenario took place in Abuja and the security men were chased by the unknown gunmen to neighbouring countries. This statement is contradictory and lacks credibility because Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, is in the centre of the country and does not share boundaries with any other country. 

Video used to depict unrest in Abuja was shot in Ivory Coast
The map if Nigeria, shows Abuja (red) in the centre of the country

Conclusion

The video used to depict the alleged narrative was taken from a different context that took place in Ivory Coast and not in Abuja, Nigeria. This claim is false. 

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