Claim: A viral video claims that the Nigerian military is threatening to force young Nigerians aged eighteen and above to join the army.

Verdict: Misleading.

Background

Nigeria faces ongoing security threats such as insurgency, banditry, and communal conflicts. Addressing these issues requires targeted actions like intelligence gathering, patrols, rapid-response teams, and community involvement.

In response to a recent increase in attacks, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has instructed Nigeria’s security agencies to undertake immediate recruitment measures to enhance national security. The official directive authorises both the police and military to augment their personnel, with the Nigeria Police Force tasked to recruit an additional 20,000 officers, bringing the total number of recruits to 50,000.

According to the Nigeria Police Force and a report by The Cable, Nigeria needs to recruit 30,000 police officers yearly to meet the United Nations’ recommended police-to-population ratio of 1:400. Nigeria’s current ratio stands at 1:602, with an estimated police strength of 371,800 officers.

Similarly, Nigeria’s active military personnel is a little over 215,000, giving the country approximately 1.1 military personnel per 1,000 citizens, compared to NATO’s average of 6 per 1,000. These figures underscore the persistent manpower deficit in Nigeria’s security architecture.

It is in this context that various misleading claims surfaced.

One such claim comes from a 17-second YouTube video featuring a man dressed as a military general, threatening to forcibly conscript Nigerian youths aged 18 and above if they fail to join willingly.

At the time of analysis, the video had over 1,100 views and more than 245 comments, with mixed reactions from viewers.

Examples of viewer reactions include:

• @UgwuokeGodswill: “Starting from both your sons and that of the politicians, others will willingly join.”
• @faosatg3826: “If you treat your citizens right, you don’t need to force them to join the army… The U.S. doesn’t force people to join the army. People sign up by themselves.”

Given the sensitivity of the claim, NDRFactCheck investigated its authenticity.

Verification

NDRFactCheck reviewed several sources to confirm if the Nigerian government or military has announced forced conscription.

A review of the official State House directive confirms that the government approved the use of NYSC camps as training depots for new police recruits. However, nowhere in the statement is there a mention of forced recruitment into the military or any other security outfit.

Furthermore, no credible media outlet corroborated the claim in the viral video. This absence of verification raises concerns about the video’s credibility and suggests it may be misleading, out of context, or created by non-official actors.

To further assess authenticity, NDRFact deployed digital forensic tools:

1. Deepfake Voice Analysis

Using Hiya Deepfake Voice Detector, the audio in the video returned an authenticity score of 1%, indicating the voice was AI-generated.

2. Image/Video Manipulation Check

A second analysis with Invid Advanced Verification revealed weak evidence, suggesting that the video likely contains AI-manipulated facial features or other forms of synthetic alteration.

Conclusion

Several sources—such as official statements, absence of reliable media reports, and sophisticated AI detection tools—indicate that the viral video alleging the Nigerian military plans to forcibly recruit youths aged eighteen and above is AI-generated and inaccurate.

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