A viral video showing police officers running away from protesters has been linked to the #EndBadGovernance protest in Nigeria.
In the video, police officers were seen running into their van while an angry mob threw stones at them and kept advancing with sticks until the truck drove off.
The video, posted by @EmmaMilleljnr on X, has over a thousand likes, 611 reposts, 167 thousand views, and 163 bookmarks.
“Soldiers on the run as protesters pursue them with stones in Kaduna. Truth be told, Nigeria has the most civil soldiers globally. The way some people are behaving as if they have two lives is scary,” the caption on the video reads.
Soldiers on the run as protesters pursue them with stones in Kaduna. Truth be told, Nigeria has the most civil soldiers globally. The way some people are behaving as if they have two lives is scary.#EndBadGovernancelnNigeria pic.twitter.com/aqmGiYTbZz
— Aboki🇳🇬🇳🇬 (@EmmaMillelJnr) August 6, 2024
THE #ENDBADGOVERNANCE PROTEST
On August 1, Nigerians took to the streets to protest against the soaring cost of living, inflation, hike in petrol prices, high cost of governance, and insecurity.
The protest turned violent in some parts of the country amid a looting spree, while police officers threw teargas canisters at protesters in Lagos, Abuja, Gombe, Yobe, Kaduna, and Kano.
Several northern states including Kano, Jigawa, Kaduna, and Jos announced a 24-hour curfew amid tensions and killings, while at least, 14 persons were reportedly killed during the demonstrations.
VERIFYING THE CLAIM
To verify the claim, TheCable subjected the video to a Google reverse image search and found that it was posted three weeks ago on YouTube by @KAMBA NATION, a Kenyan YouTuber, with the caption “Emali GenZs Overpower Police and this is the Current Situation”.
The video was also seen on @innocentvitalis3099’s YouTube page with the caption “KENYA: POLISI YAWAKIMBIA: WAANDAMANAJI”, which means “KENYA: POLICE RUN FROM : PROTESTERS”.
A critical look at the police uniform shows that the officers were Kenyan administration police, who are often used to quell protesters in the country.
TheCable also observed that the voices behind the camera spoke Swahili, a major language spoken by Kenyans.
VERDICT
The viral video of policemen running away from protesters attributed to Nigerian protest is misleading.
The video is from a Kenyan protest.
