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Claim: A video showing four women in captivity is being circulated as evidence of a fresh abduction along the Kaura Namoda axis of Zamfara State, North West Nigeria.
Verdict: False. A review of earlier versions of the same footage by DUBAWA showed that it is not recent and was already circulating three years ago. The video was recorded in connection with an abduction that occurred in January 2023, more than three years before its latest circulation.
Full Text
A video showing four women sitting together and appealing for help has recently resurfaced on social media. The footage was shared on X, Instagram and Facebook alongside claims suggesting that the women had been abducted during a fresh attack around Kaura Namoda, Zamfara State.
One of the recent posts was published by X user Zuntu Abdulfatah on June 20, 2026. It was viewed over 16,500 times and was reposted 163 times.
“Suspected armed terrorists have reportedly abducted another Nigerian woman along the Kaura Namoda axis of Zamfara State, adding to the growing list of kidnapping incidents affecting communities across the region,” the account stated.
“The latest incident has once again raised concerns over the persistent security challenges facing residents, as citizens continue to call for stronger action from security agencies and government authorities to protect lives and curb the activities of criminal groups. The victim’s family and loved ones are said to be anxiously awaiting her safe return as concerns over insecurity continue to mount.”
Similar versions of the video were also circulated on Instagram and Facebook, here and here, respectively, with thousands and hundreds of engagements.
The recent circulation has attracted attention because of the continuing insecurity and kidnapping incidents reported in Zamfara State.
Verification
DUBAWA searched for earlier versions of the footage and reports describing the incident using keyframes extracted from the viral video.
The search led to multiple videos published on YouTube and Facebook in 2023.
One of the earlier YouTube versions is titled “WATCH: Abducted Zamfara Students Cry For Help.” The video was published in connection with the abduction of four women in Zamfara State.
Further searches found reports from major Nigerian news organisations published in July and August 2023 that described the same incident and the same video.
A report by The Guardian published on August 4, 2023, stated that four women who had been kidnapped seven months earlier appeared in a two-minute, 19-second video released by their abductors.
The women were identified as Jamila Yahaya Isa, Aisha Yahaya Isa, Ummulkhairi Musa and Ummulkhairi Sani Umar.
The report said the women were kidnapped along the Kaura Namoda–Birnin Magaji Road.
The Zamfara State Government later confirmed that the four women had been rescued.
According to the Zamfara State Director of the Department of State Services, Nuhu Umar, the four women were kidnapped on January 15, 2023.
The DSS official disclosed this while handing the rescued women over to Governor Dauda Lawal in August 2023.
Conclusion
The claim is false. The viral video of four women recently abducted in a fresh attack along the Kaura Namoda axis of Zamfara State is footage dating back to 2023. The four women were abducted on January 15, 2023, but have since been rescued.
While fresh attacks and abductions have occurred in Zamfara in 2026, there is no evidence linking the women in the resurfaced video to any recent incident.