CLAIM: The mammoth crowd videos are from the October 20 #FreeNnamdiKanu protest held at Abuja.

VERDICT: False. They are from Nepal’s GenZ anti-corruption protest and the reception of the former Kenyan prime minister’s body.

FULL STORY

Multiple viral videos have surfaced purportedly in connection with the recent protest associated with #FreeNnamdiKanu, which took place at the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

On Monday, 20 October 2025, some citizens in Abuja organized a public demonstration calling for the release of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a separatist group in Nigeria.

Kanu was arrested by Nigerian security forces on 19 October 2015, on charges of “sedition, ethnic incitement and treasonable felony.”  Kanu escaped Nigeria in 2017 while on bail, but was rearrested in June 2021 and brought back to Nigeria upon his extradition from Kenya and was subsequently charged and has since been remanded to the custody of the Department of State Services.

Photos and videos have been widely shared with statements that they are from the protest. NDR FactCheck reviews these videos to verify their authenticity.

VIDEO 1

Numerous social media users, especially on Facebook and former Twitter, now X, have posted different videos of very large crowds. In one of such videos, protesters could be seen in a procession with singing, “Holy, holy, Nnamdi Kanu is another saviour”

Facebook user Eze Chinedu posted the video with a caption that reads, “Breaking News update-Abuja. An aerial view of the peaceful Nigerian protesters in Abuja who are currently demanding freedom for Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. #FreeNnamdiKanu.” The video has since gathered 186,000 views, over 6000 likes, and over 3000 shares.

Another Facebook user, Papa Ejima Comedy, posted the same video, but without the singing voices in the background.

He added a caption that reads, “Police are shooting and throwing us teargas. Free Nnamdi Kanu happening live in Abuja.” This post has since attracted over 300,000 views, over 9000 likes, and about 1900 shares.

X user @KizyUzoma posted the same video with the caption “Free Mazi Nnamdi Kanu protest ongoing in Abuja, Nigeria. #FreeNnamdiKanuNow #MNKOct20.” The post attracted over 4000 views, 106 likes, and 64 reposts.

NDR FactCheck found these claims to be false. Different TikTok handles are attached to the videos, showing they were saved from the platform.

Our searches on TikTok showed that the first video is from the GenZ Nepal protest that was held from 8 September 2025 to 13 September 2025. This video was originally uploaded on TikTok on the 8th of September 2025 by a Nepali with the username ‘Deepawali’.

Another Nepali TikTok user @ai_vibes posted the same video on the 9th of September 2025 with the caption “Nepal on Fire- GenZ protests intensify! In Kathmandu, protests against the social media ban and corruption have turned into one of the biggest uprisings in Nepal history…”

VIDEO 2

Facebook user Omolara Alagbala posted a video of a large crowd in a procession. A helicopter is observed hovering overhead, while a police officer is positioned atop a stationary vehicle.  A review of the 1 minute 17 seconds video reveals a board located in the middle of the road with the inscription ‘Standard Group Plc.’  Attached to the video is a caption that reads, “No retreat, the game has begun. Free Nnamdi Kanu now.” The video has since gathered over 5000 views, 105 likes, and 45 shares.

NDR FactCheck conducted a Google search on the Standard Group Plc, as captured in the video, and discovered that it’s a multimedia organisation situated in Nairobi, Kenya, with investments in media platforms spanning newspaper print operations, television, radio broadcasting, digital, and online services.

A screenshot of the internet search result of the organisation

A closer examination of the video revealed a TikTok handle from which the video was downloaded. NDR Factcheck found out that the video was uploaded by TikTok user ‘Geramwai’ on the 16th of October 2025 with the caption “this image captures the moment when a large crowd gathered in Nairobi to mourn the death of former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga. The crowd gathered to receive his body, which was being returned from India.”

Using Google reverse image search, the same video is found to have been posted on Instagram on the same day.

Raila Amolo Odinga was a Kenyan politician who was regarded as Kenya’s ‘father of democracy’ and served as the Prime Minister from 2008 to 2013. He was the Member of Parliament for Langata Constituency from 1992 to 2013 and was the Leader of the Opposition in Kenya from 2013. Odinga died at 80 from a suspected heart attack in India on Wednesday, triggering a huge outpouring of grief across the country, but particularly in western Kenya, where his Luo tribe are dominant.

CONCLUSION

The claim that these videos are from the #FreeNnamdiKanu protest on October 20, 2025, is false; they actually show unrelated events in Nepal and Kenya.

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