Claim: An X user @Palermo_seun shared a video depicting Nigerian soldiers’ decisive
response to an alleged bandit ambush.
Verdict: False. A reverse image search on Google shows that it is an old video clip. It has been
online since January 2021.
Full Text
In Nigeria, insecurity is one of the county’s major problems, and soldiers are not left out.The rate
at which bandits attack military bases in Nigeria is quite alarming. This continues to cause fear
among the citizens.
Recently, an X user, @Palermo_seun, shared a video (archived here) where he claimed that
bandits tried to ambush Nigerian soldiers,but they responded swiftly. The video shared on June 22, 2026, captured three Nigerian soldiers shooting sporadically in the direction of a nearby bush.
The caption reads, “Video: Bandits tried to ambush Nigerian soldiers, but these brave men responded swiftly and decisively.”
In the video, three Nigerian soldiers were sighted shooting sporadically at a nearby bush.
As of July 14, 2026, the video has gained 756,000 views, 6,100 likes, 485 reposts, and 485
bookmarks, generating mixed reactions among the commenters. While some believed the post,
others doubted its authenticity and recency.
An X user, Defense News Nigeria (@DefenseNigeria), commented, “This video is over 5 years
old.”
Another X user, Pbarnchen (@Pbarnchen), who believed the post, commented,“Omoh may God
protect this able Men Can you imagine doing this with no helmet or bulletproof, I feel scared for
them . One gunshot is all it takes, no room for mistakes here.”
A part of the video was seen on Facebook showing the three soldiers. Due to the claim’s virality and its potential to incite fear among Nigerians, Ripples Nigeria decided to verify it.
Verification
Ripples Nigeria extracted key frames from the clip and subjected the clearest image to Google
reverse image search. The search led us to a similar video posted on Facebook on September
12, 2020.
The result also led to another Facebook post on Jan. 22, 2021, showing a scene from the video
clip.
To further verify the claim, Ripples Nigeria searched for news reports from reputable media
outlets and the verified channels of security agencies on soldiers responding to bandit ambushes.
Our search led us to publications by newspapers and others, where soldiers repelled attacks by
suspected Lakurawa bandits in Kebbi and Sokoto in February and June, 2026, respectively.
However, these publications are entirely unrelated to the current claim.
Conclusion
The claim is false. Our findings show that it is not a recent video. The video first surfaced online
in 2021.
By Mukhtar Jibril
(Ripples)
