ON January 14, an X user, @RealQueenBee_, posted pictures showing some malnourished young children and parents with a claim that they were victims released by kidnappers in Kogi State.
She posted the claim with a caption :
“MY HEART IS BLEEDING. Three have already died, 13 still in captivity, these are kidnnaped victims release today in Kogi State. The APC and Bola Tinubu would rather spend millions $m lobbying the United States that there’s no insecurity than using it secure Nigerians.”
However, a verified X user, @mariolexxx, quoted her post and claimed that the images were AI-generated.
“Make una stop to dey share AI pictures. Some mumu Nigerians won’t even bother to verify it but rather jump on the bandwagon,” the X user posted.
READ: Claim that Kogi is the poorest Nigerian state is FALSE!
As of January 17, 2026. His quote has generated over 9500 views and 83 likes.
CLAIM
Images claim malnourished individuals in and around a vehicle are AI-generated and not real victims of kidnapping in Kogi state.
FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE.
The ICIR reported that on Sunday, December 14, 2025, armed men on motorcycles attacked the Ayetoro-Kiri community in Kabba/Bunu LGA of Kogi State. They abducted at least 30 residents, mostly children and elderly worshippers. The attackers stormed homes and churches before fleeing through nearby forests.
On January 1, 2026, seven victims were released after negotiations and the payment of a ₦15 million ransom. Four were freed alive, while three were confirmed dead, which was two before their release and one after hospitalisation.
FactCheckHub analysed the images shared by the X user using Hive Moderation, an AI detection tool, and the results showed that they were unlikely to contain AI-generated or deepfake elements.
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A Kogi – based platform, The Trumpet published the original photos and reported on the release of the 17 kidnapped victims, lending credibility to the images. AFRIKAEYES also reported the story with the exact images.
This shows that the images are not AI-generated. They are pictures of newly released victims from captivity.
VERDICT
The claim that the images of the kidnapped victims in the Ayetorokiri community are AI-generated is FALSE. They are authentic photographs of victims released after a kidnapping incident in Ayetoro-Kiri, Kogi state.
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
