On Tuesday, some social media users claimed that protesters in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital, asked the Nigerian military to take over power from President Bola Tinubu.
In the one-minute video, a pickup truck conveying some soldiers is seen slowly moving on a major road while some people are protesting at the front.
A masculine voice could be heard shouting: “Tinubu must go. We want the Nigerian army to take over. I don’t know why they are afraid.”
The video has been widely shared on Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp.
An X user, @SabinaNkiru, with over 11,000 followers, posted the video with the caption: “Protesters in Ibadan block Nigerian Army vehicles, asking them why they are afraid to take over government from Tinubu”.
The post, archived here, has over 1,700 views and 18 requotes.
Another X user, @PrinceUjay, with over 45,000 followers, posted the same video with the caption: “Situation getting intense and alarming in Ibadan as Protesters block Nigerian Army Vehicles calling on the military to take over the government, saying the suffering under President Tinubu is unbearable.”
The post has over 2,000 views with 27 requotes. Archived here.
Other versions of the post have been archived here, and here.
VERIFICATION
A close look at the video showed that it emanated from a TikTok user @mikkyforlife0.
Searches on the TikTok page of the user indicated that the video was published on August 2, 2024, during the nationwide #EndBadGovernance protest.
The protest against the economic hardship took place in many parts of the country between August 1 and 10, 2024.
Also, a campaign banner of Asue Ighodalo, Edo governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was mounted on an advertising board along the road.
The protesters also marched through the two-lane road in front of TotalEnergies lorry park filling station in Benin.
The filling station is located along Upper Mission Road, Benin, the Edo state capital.
Google Earth’s street view of the location of the protest in Benin.
VERDICT
The claim that protesters in Ibadan asked the Nigerian army to take over from the democratic government is false as the video was shot in Benin during the August nationwide protest.
