A video is making the rounds on social media with the claim that bandits have issued threat letters in which they have ordered all churches in Nigeria to shut down.
The video, which was retrieved from WhatsApp on Sunday, October 29, 2023, shows a social media influencer with the alias Edobabe, alongside a clip of a press briefing by officers of the Nigeria Police.
The police officer seen speaking in the video could be heard asking religious centres to be security conscious following a threat letter he had received.
“The threat letters were just sent to the churches. The threat letter was dropped at around the headquarters and was brought to me. I was the one that opened the envelope, read the threat letter. On seeing that, I now invited the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) to tell them about the threat. Whether it is real or not, we have to be security conscious. So, I gave them copies of the letter so that they will adjust their programs in the church. Instead of closing late, they should close on time,” parts of his statement read.
The latter part of the three-minute forty-seven-second video shows Edobabe asking people to share the footage widely.
Claim: Bandits sent threat letters, asking all churches in Nigeria to close down
Verification
In the process of examining the authenticity of the claim, this researcher conducted a Google Reverse Search to confirm when and where the Police press briefing took place. It was found that the footage had been online since 2021.
In June 2022, the footage of the police press briefing was widely circulated across social media platforms as can be seen here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. It was shared with the narrative that the police had confirmed the receipt of a threat letter instructing all churches in Nigeria to close for three months.
The exact video retrieved from WhatsApp was found to have been uploaded to YouTube in June 2022. Also in March 2023, the footage of the police briefing was shared by a YouTube user, Blessing Obi.
However, further investigation by this researcher revealed that the scene captured in the viral footage was the moment when the Commissioner of Police in Zamfara State, Ayuba Elkanah, addressed journalists in December 2021.
At the press briefing which took place in Gusau, the capital of Zamfara, Eikanah disclosed that the State Police command had received a threat letter from suspected armed bandits. The letter was directed at the Christian community, asking churches in the state to close down within three years or risk facing fierce attacks.
This development was corroborated by multiple media reports, as seen here, here, and here.
Verdict: FALSE
CDD War Room confirms that the viral video is an old video of a press briefing held by the Zamfara State Police Command in 2021. The State CP had addressed journalists about a threat letter from suspected bandits, asking churches in Zamfara state to close down.