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Claim: A Facebook user, Asare Obed, shared a video of a woman crossing a river with a rope, claiming the video is from Nigeria.
Verdict: False. DUBAWA’s findings reveal that the bridge is not from Nigeria but from Sudan.
Full Text
A Facebook user, Asare Obed, shared a video of a woman crossing a river with the aid of a rope, claiming the video is from Nigeria. By Aug. 24, 2025, the clip had gathered more than 2,000 shares, 1,200 comments, and over 12,000 likes and was accompanied by a voiceover that claimed:
“This is not a scene from a movie; this is the harsh reality of Nigeria. Every day, people cross this river, risking their lives. There is no bridge, only a weak rope to support them. The situation is so dire that to get from the village to the city, one must hang onto that rope, swinging between hope and death.”
While some viewers accepted the claim, others doubted the video’s origin.
Victor Adu Kweku wrote: “Giants of Africa? Imagine how the ‘dwarfs’ countries will look. Logical reasoning.” Ogonns Eugenia questioned: “Please, this is not Nigeria. Mention the area.”
Akunna Peter added: “You people took our natural resources and now show us what we don’t want to see.”
King Isong insisted, “All over the world, anything bad is tagged Nigeria. This is not Nigeria.”
DUBAWA decided to fact-check the claim because it reinforces negative stereotypes about the country and could mislead social media users.
Verification
DUBAWA subjected screenshots from the video to a Google Reverse Image Search and discovered that the footage dates back to Sept. 2024. The clip, not from Nigeria but from Sudan, shows civilians crossing the river with ropes’ aid after the Morni Bridge’s collapse, which connects South and Middle Darfur.
The video was posted on Sept. 7, 2024, by the Sudan International Human Rights Organization (SIHRO) on its X handle. SIHRO wrote,
“The collapse of the Morni Bridge, which connects South and Middle Darfur, has forced desperate civilians to risk their lives by crossing the river using makeshift ropes. This harrowing situation is a direct violation of their basic human rights and dignity.”
Similarly, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Sudan also confirmed the incident, sharing images of the collapsed bridge on its X handle as far back as Aug. 12, 2024.
Conclusion
The viral video shared by Asare Obed does not depict life in Nigeria as claimed. DUBAWA’s findings reveal that the footage is from Sudan, where the collapse of the Morni Bridge in Darfur forced civilians to risk dangerous river crossings with ropes. While the video is real, linking it to Nigeria is false.
