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Claim: A Facebook user shared a video allegedly showing a confrontation between the local vigilantes and Fulani herders in Benue State, North-central Nigeria.
Verdict: Misleading! Available evidence shows that the video has been online since 2022 and does not relate to Nigeria as portrayed. The video was of a clash between members of rival youth gangs in Congo.
Full Text
Recently, armed groups launched an attack, killing residents and destroying livelihoods worth millions in Yelewata, an agrarian community in Benue State.
Following the massacre, a Facebook user, Boy Kcee, shared a video claiming it shows an ongoing clash between the Benue state residents and their Fulani counterparts.
The video, uploaded on June 30, 2025, shows two groups clashing with cutlasses and sticks.
The 14-second video reads, “Ongoing war in Benue state as local vigilantes killed 35 Fulani herdsmen, cows, and 14 Fulani herdsmen that are terrorising their community.”
Meanwhile, as of Thursday, July 10, 2025, the post has attracted 76 views, one comment, and three likes.
Noticing the possibility of igniting tension among bereaved communities, DUBAWA carried out this fact-check to set the record straight.
Verification
We conducted a Google reverse image search and noticed the video was online before 2025.
DUBAWA found a similar video shared by Congo TV on YouTube on Aug. 22, 2022.
Investigating further, we found another video shared on X on Aug. 23, 2022, by an account identified as the President of the National Federation of Youth of the Union for Congolese Nation.
Alongside the video, the X user condemned the Kulana crisis in Kinshasa, in Congo.
Meanwhile, a news report in August 2023 depicts the clash as a violent confrontation between members of rival youth gangs–locally known as “Kulunas”—after a community football tournament in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
We also conducted a keyword search to see if any clashes had occurred between Benue State residents and their Fulani counterparts, but we found nothing.
Conclusion
DUBAWA’s investigation reveals that the claim is misleading. The video has been online since 2022 and is unrelated to Nigeria as claimed.
