By Yusuf Adua
After the tragic killing of innocent worshipers at St Francis Catholic Church, Owa-luwa Street, Owo, News Live Nigeria can confirm that the video showing how a brave policeman brought down a suspected terrorist with his gun is not related to the incident whatsoever.
After the devastating massacre stood most Nigerians’ minds aloof, social media mongers began to spread the video positing that it was shot in Owo, Ondo state, where yet to be identified gunmen stormed a church and wreaked severe havoc.
This reporter understands that the misleading video was neither recorded in Nigeria nor related by any chance to the Owo incident.
Though the social media has hosted blood thirsty videos, such false information as this widespread allusion should not be the content to placate Nigerians.
The Nigerian Police have said it is yet to fish out the miscreants behind the attack.
The deceptive video showed how a valiant police officer toppled one of the suspected evil perpetrators who was holding a gun.
Going through comments on Facebook and Twitter where the post was trending, News Live Nigeria surveyed that 51.03 users consumed the video as they watched, judging by their comments afterwards.
On the contrary, some Nigerians were quick to discredit the video, concerned about knowing its source.
After unbiased verification, News Live Nigeria gathered that the video had surfaced long ago on the internet before the Owo massacre.
Raissa Nouradine Kassire was the first person to post the video on Twitter two years ago. It was posted on 3rd June 2020 with a French caption.
“A Chadian trader residing in Togo killed a gendarme and injured a policeman who tried to control him. The incident happened at the market; the crowd later lynched the criminal. We regret this despicable act. Sincere condolences to the families and the Togolese people.”
Though some commentators on the social media said the uniform does not look like that of the Nigerian Police, plus the language spoken in the video does not sound like Yoruba, which is spoken primarily in Ondo state, The outcome of this fact check has validated this proposition.
The video can also be traced to an incident on a Togolese news website that had this headline: “A young Chadian stabs a gendarme to death and wounds a policeman.”
This said incident happened in Lomé at a location not far from Marox in Togo.
Nigerian Police Force, Ondo state command and other security operatives in the state may have deployed personnel to go after the assailants. Still, at the time of compiling this report, the perpetrators are yet to be apprehended.
Discover more from News Live Nigeria
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.