A viral picture circulating on social media claims that nine Muslims were arrested in Kano State, northern Nigeria, after being caught eating during Ramadan fasting hours by the Islamic police, known as Hisbah.
The image was shared by the facebook page The People’s News Africa with the caption:
“9 Arrested in Nigeria 🇳🇬 for Eating.
Nine Muslims have been arrested in Kano State, northern Nigeria, after being caught eating during the Ramadan fasting hours. The arrests were made by the Islamic police known as Hisbah during routine patrols in restaurants, markets and public areas”.
As of February 20, 2026, the post has garnered over 500 likes, 515 comments, and 70 shares, with some commenters asking the law behind such arrest.
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Claim
The post claims that the Hisbah police arrested nine individuals in Kano for eating during Ramadan fasting hours.
Findings
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is MISLEADING.
The post coincides with the current 2026 Ramadan fast, which is ongoing as of February 20. While there have been historical and recent reports of Hisbah arresting 9 Muslims in Kano, enforcing fasting regulations in northern Nigeria, the specific image being circulated as proof of this arrest is a digital fabrication. BBC reported that seven males and two females were arrested by Hisbah police a day ago for eating after feigning ignorance that Ramadan has begun, while the two events might have occured in the same state, one revealed the actual incident and the other is a fabricated story of the incident using AI.
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Further checks show that the image, when subjected to analysis using the specialized AI detection tool Hivemoderation, returned a high probability score of 97.8%. This result confirms that the image is a product of Artificial Intelligence rather than a real-life photograph.
Visual anomalies within the picture further give away its synthetic nature. A close inspection reveals that several of the seated men share the exact same facial features, expressions, and posture, which is a common error in AI-generated imagery. Additionally, the uniforms of the officers in the background contain distorted insignias.
Verdict
The claim that the viral picture shows nine Muslims recently arrested in Kano for eating during Ramadan is MISLEADING. The image is an AI-generated fabrication of BBC News reported a day ago.
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
