Fact-Check: Old Mali Video Falsely Presented as Nigerian Military Killing Bandits in Orire, Oyo

Claim: An X user, Hon. Jesugbemi, shared a video claiming that the Nigerian military killed bandits during the rescue of Orire pupils and teachers.

Verdict: False

Full Text

@Hon_Jesugbemi, an X user, on 11th July 2026, posted a video claiming that the Nigerian Army, during the rescue operation of kidnapped pupils and teachers of Orire Local Government, Ogbomoso, Oyo State, killed some of the bandits.

In the comment attached to the video footage, he further claimed that some were arrested alive.

The tweet states, “During the rescue of the victims, some bandits were killed while others were captured alive. Kudos to Nigerian army and others 󰐕”

Hon Jesugbemi posted a screenshot of the video footage on X. 

On 15th May 2026, bandits reportedly invaded Community High School, Ahoro-Esinele, in the Oriire local government area in the Ogbomoso zone, Oyo State, and kidnapped pupils and teachers.

After 56 days in captivity, the presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga announced the release of more than 46 abducted pupils and teachers on Friday evening.

Within 24 hours of the announcement, the claim emerged and drew 4.8k views, 2 comments, 11 retweets, and 54 likes, reflecting the attention it attracted due to its national significance.

Given the national security concerns and the circumstances surrounding the aftermath of the kidnapping, the claim requires verification before anyone can accept it as true.

Verification 

NDRFactcheck conducted a Google reverse image search on some screenshots, reviewing the information that shows that the footage is not linked to a recent Nigerian military rescue operation.

The same footage has been used elsewhere, linking it to the Malian Armed Forces during military operations against terrorist groups in Gao, Sévaré, and Anéfis, Mali, on July 4, 2026.

It was a report by a Burundian media platform, Facebook, called FATA Media, using an indigenous language known as Kirundi, but which was translated by ChatGPT into English.

“Mali 󰐄: What you see are weapons seized by the Malian armed forces during clashes with terrorist groups on 04/07/2026 in the areas of Gao, Sevaré, and Anéfis.

Mali faces serious security challenges, with terrorist groups frequently undermining peace and stability.

As a result, the military has increasingly escorted large commercial vehicles carrying goods from neighbouring countries, including fuel tankers.

Conclusion

The investigation found that the footage shows military operations in Mali, particularly a July 2026 clash between the Malian military and an armed group around Gao, Sévaré, and Anéfis, not a Nigerian military operation.

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