Faced with rising prices and an economic crisis, Nigerians have taken to the streets to protest government policies. Misinformation about the demonstrations has spread online, with one report claiming that a video shows crowds marching through the streets of a north-central Nigerian state. But that claim is false; the video was filmed in Kenya during recent anti-tax protests in the country.
The video was Posted on Instagram on August 1, 2024, by former presidential candidate Dele Momodu. It has received more than 6,700 likes.
Momodu is a media publisher and a two-time presidential candidate, First in 2011 under the National Conscience Party (NCP) and then in 2022 below the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) (archived here And here).
In the 17-second clip, a large crowd marches along a road between buildings, with some people holding placards.
The caption of the video reads: “Nigeria today, Niger state, no going back”. Niger is a state in the north-central part of the country.
Most commenters seemed to believe the claim. One commenter said: “Thanks guys for coming out in droves.” Another wrote: “This is wild.”
The date on Momodu’s post coincides with the start of a ten-day protest by Nigerians against the high cost of living in the country.
The protest movement, dubbed #EndbadGovernanceinNigeria, has garnered widespread support with an online campaign calling on the government to, among other things, reduce fuel prices and address the cost of living crisis.
The same claim was shared on YouTube here.
Protests in Nigeria
Africa’s most populous country is struggling with skyrocketing inflation and a sharply devalued naira after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu implemented reforms a year ago aimed at reviving the economy.
In early August, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets to protest government policies and the high cost of living, which only increases hunger among the population.
Although the protest was scheduled for August 1-10, turnout began to decline from the third day onwards following police attacks on demonstrators. Rights group Amnesty International has accused security forces have killed at least 13 protesters, while police say seven people have been killed and deny responsibility (archived here).
The country’s police said they had arrested nearly 700 people in the first two days of protests, accusing them of “armed robbery, arson, vandalism” and destruction of property.
On August 4, 2024, Tinubu addressed the country to defend his government’s achievements and call for an end to the protests (archived here).
However, the excerpt in Momodu’s message shows no protest in Niger State.
Fragment from Kenya
The habits InVID-WeVerify Toolwe extracted keyframes from the clip and executed them reverse image search.
One of the results led to a TikTok Post published on June 20, 2024, meaning the footage was already online before the protests began in Nigeria.
The caption reads: “Nakuru well represented,” while the post includes hashtags such as #rejectfinancebill2024, #Nakuru and #Kenya.
These details suggest that the footage likely shows one of many demonstrations in Kenya protesting against the introduction of new and higher taxes.
The demonstrations in Kenya originally began on June 18 as a reaction to the Finance Bill 2024, but has since grown into a broader expression of discontent with President William Ruto’s government, even after he withdrew the proposed tax hike legislation (archived here).
On the date the original TikTok video was posted, local news outlet NTV reported reported how residents of Nakuru took to the streets to protest against the bill.
AFP Fact Check identified landmarks in the video, including a large banner reading “Nakuru” at the top and the name of a shop at street level called “Rocky”.
By combining the keywords “Rocky” and “Nakuru” on Google Maps, we were able to determine accurately the location in the TikTok post to Mburu Gichua Road in Nakuru town.
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Meanwhile, on the same day Momodu made the claim, Nigerian media reported reported that criminals have hijacked a peaceful demonstration, leading to the death of two people after police shot dead seven in the town of Suleja in Niger State — 52 kilometers from the country’s capital (archived here).
