A video showing some Nigerian soldiers torturing a man alleged to be a victim of brutality has surfaced online.
The video, shared by an X user, @zoomafrika1, shows soldiers tying up a man, placing him under fire, and assaulting him with guns, stones, and other objects.
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The X user posted the claim with a caption thus:
“The most horrific Video from Nigerian Army 😢😭💔 Stop Army Brutality!!”
The post has garnered over 500,000 views, plus 1,300 likes, and more than 600 reposts as of November 27, 2024.
CLAIM
Video shows man brutalised recently by some Nigerian soldiers.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is MISLEADING, as the video has been online since 2019.
A Google reverse image search revealed that it was first shared by multiple X users, including @aisha_yaGuda, on September 17, 2019, with the caption thus: “I don’t know what he did to deserve this roasting!💔”
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Further searches using keywords such as “army brutality” led to media reports which confirmed that the video depicted some Nigerian soldiers involved in the torture and extra-judicial killings of a suspected Boko Haram terrorist.
In November 2019, the Nigerian Army released a statement condemning the actions captured in the footage. The then-acting Director of Army Public Relations, Sagir Musa, promised investigations and sanctions against the implicated personnel.
THE VERDICT
The claim that the video shows recent brutality by the Nigerian Army is MISLEADING; the footage first surfaced online in 2019 and does not depict a recent event.
Nurudeen Akewushola is a fact-checker with FactCheckHub. He has authored several fact checks which have contributed to the fight against information disorder. You can reach him via [email protected] and @NurudeenAkewus1 via Twitter.
