A VIRAL video circulating on social media claims to show a massive crowd gathering for a recent protest over the abduction of school children and teachers in Oyo State.
The video captures a large crowd of people marching down a major highway accompanied, by a police patrol vehicle.
A verified X account, @TheYorubaTimes, shared the footage to depict real-time protests in Abeokuta. The post was captioned: “PROTEST: More Crowds Gather In Abeokuta As Demonstrations Over Abducted Oyo Schoolchildren And Teachers Gain Momentum.”
As of June 3, 2026, the video has generated over 12,000 views, 92 likes and 31 reposts.
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CLAIM
Video shows a massive crowd gathering in Abeokuta to protest the abduction of Oyo State school children and teachers.
FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is MISLEADING.
While residents in the South-West have protested over recent security failures, including the school-targeted abduction in the Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, the video shared by The Yoruba Times is entirely unrelated to these current events.
READ MORE: Video attributed to #justice4Mohbad protest in Abeokuta is MISLEADING
A reverse image search on keyframes from the video reveals that the footage is nearly three years old. The clip was originally recorded in September 2023 during the widespread national protests demanding justice for the late Nigerian musician Ilerioluwa Aloba, popularly known as Mohbad.
The exact video was posted on X by user @atoyebi_omotayo on September 19, 2023, documenting the peaceful walk organised by youth in Abeokuta, Ogun State, following the singer’s sudden demise.
Furthermore, The Niche newspaper published a report on the same day, September 19, 2023, detailing how spontaneous protests erupted across Ogun, Lagos, and Delta states as young Nigerians took to the streets demanding a thorough investigation into Mohbad’s death.
The video has been lifted completely out of its original context and falsely recaptioned to depict current security issues in the country.
VERDICT
The claim that the video shows current demonstrations over abducted Oyo school children and teachers in Abeokuta is misleading. The footage dates back to September 19, 2023, and shows a youth protest demanding justice for the late musician Mohbad.
Seasoned writer and literary curator, Zainab Abdulrasaq is a factchecker for The FactCheckHub in an effort to combat information disorder. She can be reached on IG @blackbookishgirl or zabdulrasaq@icirnigeria.org
