This tweet from April 29, 2021, claims to show a video of Mali bandits in a truck, crossing over to Nigeria. It is alleged that they had set up a camp along Ibadan-Ijebu Ode Road in Ogun State, Nigeria.
Bandits from Mali 🇲🇱 coming into 🇳🇬 to wreck havoc caught. They hav camps along Ibadan ijebu ode road. Be careful out there #Baba Ijesha #SecureNorth Haaland pic.twitter.com/d3NiVjlgnY
— Ohis. SE 🇳🇬 MCFC (@binitimes) April 29, 2021
Such claims can be very alarming with the recent reports of mass kidnappings by bandits in Nigeria.
Background
While presenting a quarterly security report, Kaduna’s Internal Security and Home Affairs Commissioner, Samuel Aruwan revealed that between January and March, 323 people had been killed and 949 kidnapped by bandits. The commissioner further stated that they were looking into dismantling gun-running networks.
Piga Firmbi has checked similar claims of bandits in Nigeria.
Verification
From a Google reverse image search, results show, this video was shared as a Facebook post on April 23, 2021.
According to this post, 76 Ethiopian nationals were apprehended in Chipata, Zambia. These refugees were fleeing from the ongoing conflict in the Tigray region. Now in its seventh month, thousands have lost their lives and close to 1.7 million internally displaced due to the conflict. Three soldiers have been convicted for rape and 28 others with the death of civilians. An additional 25 other have been charged with rape and other forms of sexual assault.
That being the only result from a reverse image search, we used this information to run further checks. From the keywords “76 Ethiopian Immigrants Chipata” results show that the Daily Nation Zambia shared the same video on the same day. These immigrants were being ferried in a truck disguised as a maize bran.
The Daily Star Zambia on April 23, 2021, confirmed that these immigrants aged between 15 and 35, were nabbed on the night of April 21, 2021, near Musekela in Chipata.
USAID, on May 26, 2021 confirmed that, so far, seven humanitarian workers have been killed while delivering assistance to victims of the ongoing conflict. To find peace in this conflict, USAID says, “Eritrean troops must leave Tigray, the Ethiopian government must grant unimpeded humanitarian access and punish human rights abusers, and a political solution must be reached.”
Verdict
This tweet claiming to show Mali bandits crossing over to Nigeria is FALSE.
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