FACT CHECK: No, these photos are not from recent bandit attacks in Sokoto
Some images showing corpses portrayed as victims of recent bandit attacks in Sokoto state have been circulated on social media.
The north-west state has witnessed a series of bandit attacks lately, which have claimed many lives.
On December 6, about 23 passengers were burnt to death in a bus attack in the state. A few days after, the bandits also returned to a village where they abducted many residents and killed two people.
The images shared on Twitter and Facebook showed a lineup of some Muslims performing burial rites on corpses, while the other showed a burnt area.
A Twitter user, @DrHalimah with 1,926 followers, posted the images on December 10 with the caption: “The Sokoto Killings by Bandits. If you are a Muslim and Online, Please Retweet this for the Sake of this Friday”. The post has generated over 1,000 retweets and 800 likes.
The Sokoto Killings by Bandits😢
If you are a Muslim and Online, Please Retweet this for the Sake of this Friday🙏🙏🙏 pic.twitter.com/ZxGl2V2CbvAdvertisement— Leeemahh❤ Bichi (@DrHalima_) December 10, 2021
A Facebook user, Hyshat Haruna, also posted the photos with the caption “The Sokoto Killings by Bandits If you are a Muslim and Online, Please Share this. ”
BUT ARE THESE IMAGES NEW?
To verify the pictures shared by these social media users, TheCable subjected the images to reverse image search on multiple search engines.
IMAGE 1
The photo appeared on the news website of Vanguard newspaper. A 2019 article on the platform contains the image with the caption “Zamfara killings”. Another news website that posted the photo in 2014 gave credit to Vanguard.
IMAGE 2
The photo was posted by BBC pidgin with the caption “Zamfara Goment” in May 2020 and was attached to a report on the killing of some villagers in Sabon Birni LGA of Sokoto state.
IMAGE 3
The third picture is from the burial of about 36 persons killed by bandits in Birane village in Zurmi LGA of Zamfara state in February 2018.
IMAGE 4
The fourth image shows the mass burial of about 43 rice farmers killed by the Boko Haram terrorists in Zabarmari village in Jere LGA of Borno state in 2020.
VERDICT: Findings showed that the images being shared on social media platforms do not have a connection with recent bandit attacks in Sokoto.
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