A video showing some officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) engaged in a brawl with two men in military uniform has gone viral online.
In the seven minutes long footage, three men wearing EFCC jackets and one man wearing a police jacket could be seen trying to raid an apartment while harassing a man and a woman.
At about 4 minutes, 51 seconds into the video, two men dressed in military uniform could be seen slapping and beating the ‘police officer’ and the ‘EFCC officials’.
The video has garnered over 6 million views, with over 9,000 comments and about 120,000 reactions on Facebook as of Monday, November 20, 2023.
The video has been trending on TikTok and X (formerly Twitter) since Friday, November 13, 2023, following news reports of men from the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) allegedly invading the EFCC office in Kaduna state to enforce the release of their colleagues from detention.
The suspects, which comprise one member of the Army and six members of the Nigerian Air Force, were taken into custody by the commission for additional investigation and potential legal action after being apprehended on Monday, November 13, 2023, by the anti-graft agency’s Kaduna Zonal office.
Channels Television reported that the invasion by the military personnel resulted in a confrontation between EFCC agents and NAF officers, who started yelling at each other and threatening to pull triggers on each other.
The suspects were released following a brief meeting between the leader of the Air Force team and the EFCC Zonal head after nerves were calmed.
The EFCC is Nigeria’s leading anti-graft agency charged with the responsibility of investigation and enforcement of all economic and financial crimes laws in Nigeria.
CLAIM
Viral video shows EFCC officials being harassed and molested by Army personnel.
THE FINDINGS
Checks by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is MISLEADING!
Searches conducted on TikTok using keywords such as ‘army slaps EFCC officials’ led us to multiple versions of the footage.
The video, produced by a content creator with the username: @mrmej_ on TikTok, was uploaded on Wednesday November 15, 2023 on the creator’s account on different platforms, including Twitter and Facebook. Only one minute, fifty eight seconds of the video was uploaded on TikTok, the full video which was over seven minute long was uploaded on Facebook.
The video however gained traction on Friday November 17, 2023 following the invasion of the EFCC Kaduna Zonal office by the NAF personnel which led to the several duets and videos posted by other TikTok users, thus contributing to the disinformation flow.
The anti-graft agency condemned the skit in an official press statement posted on their X (formerly Twitter) account same day the skit was released, reiterating its warning to skit makers and other social workers to desist from using the operational identities of the Commission illegally and irresponsibly.
EFCC PRESS STATEMENT
EFCC Condemns Unauthorized Use of Its Operational Identities for Skit Making
A video, code-named: “EFCC and Army Wahala” gaining traction across the social media, once again, compels the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to reiterate its warning to… pic.twitter.com/U6WUVg6Xih
— EFCC Nigeria (@officialEFCC) November 15, 2023
THE VERDICT
The viral video of EFCC officials being harassed and molested by army personnel is MISLEADING, as it is a comedy skit and unconnected to the recent brawl between EFCC officials and NAF personnel in Kaduna.
Seasoned fact-checker and researcher Fatimah Quadri has written numerous fact-checks, explainers, and media literacy pieces for The FactCheckHub in an effort to combat information disorder. She can be reached at sunmibola_q on X or [email protected].
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