By Pascal Ibe
Claim
Social media uses claimed viral video of a traffic robbery incident occurred in Nigeria’s capital city of Abuja.
Verdict
This claim is Misleading. Thorough findings by crimefacts news showed that the incident happened in Gaborone, Botswana on 11 February 2022.
Also a statement by the Nigeria police, that the incident happened in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, is Misleading.
Full Text
Social media users posted a video of a traffic robbery incident and claimed that it occurred in Nigeria’s capital city of Abuja recently.
In the night time video, motorists at a traffic stop were seen being harassed and robbed by armed individuals.
Forwarded to many WhatsApp groups on Friday, many persons posted the viral video with caption, “The frightening moment hoodlums attacked vehicles waiting for traffic light to turn green in Abuja.“
Reacting to the viral video in a statement on Friday, the police spokesperson in Nigeria, ACP Adejobi Muyiwa said the incident was found to have occurred in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, after the video was subjected to “thorough digital forensic analysis”
Adejobi said on April 22, an individual from South Africa posted the video on X, with a caption stating that it is dangerous to travel in Ethiopia without a handgun.
He said the video was subsequently reposted by some “mischief makers” who alleged that the incident happened in Abuja.
Verification
However, crimefacts news findings showed that the video didn’t happen in Abuja, Nigeria or Addis Ababa in Ethiopia.
When crimeFacts news subjected the cutout images from the video to Google lens, eleven websites had already published reports about the incident.
A simple Google image reverse search indicated that the video was posted by a Botswana Facebook page news named Mmegi shared the video on Facebook on 11 February 2022 and wrote, “HELP POLICE IDENTIFY SUSPECTS
The suspects in the footage are wanted in connection with a robbery that occurred in Gaborone on Friday (11/02/2022).
For more information call Broadhurst Police at
Tel: 362 4000, 395 7329, 395 7349, 317 0987, 999 or contact the nearest police station“.
On February 14, 2022, another Facebook page named Life After Politics posted this video and asked the public to help identify the suspects.
Also, a newspaper in Botswana, Botswana Citizens Newspaper confirmed that viral video happened in Gaborone, Botswana.
Refuting that the incident happened in Kampala, Uganda in February 2022, the deputy spokesperson for the Uganda Police Force Claire Nabakka dismissed the claim that the video was filmed in Uganda on Twitter.
Nabakka told Ugandans to “disregard” the video as the robbery took place in Botswana and not Uganda.
Conclusion
Findings by crimefacts news showed that the viral traffic robbery video which social media users claimed that it occurred in Nigeria, is Misleading.
Also, a statement by the Nigeria police that the incident happened in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, is Misleading.
Newspapers and Facebook pages in Botswana confirmed that the incident happened on 11 February 2022 in Gaborone, Botswana.
