Claim: Some Facebook users shared a video claiming terrorists are planning to invade Enugu and Port Harcourt.
Verdict: False! The video is unrelated to any planned invasion of Enugu or Port Harcourt and has been circulating since 2024.
Full text
On Monday, May 26, 2025, a Facebook user with the name Debra O. Kalus posted (archived here) a video claiming that terrorists were planning to invade Enugu and Port Harcourt in the SouthEastern region of Nigeria.
The 29-second video shows several men dressed in Nigerian army uniforms, armed with guns strapped across their chests. Among them is a man in a white shirt speaking Hausa while mentioning Enugu and Port Harcourt.
“Breaking News, Nigerian government terrorists are planning to invade Enugu & Port Harcourt, South East. Enugu people, be prepared. Hope your Fulani slave governors will send their security forces to protect you. They said they are coming to Enugu and Port Harcourt, please let’s be careful, especially night movements,” the Facebook user wrote.
On the same day, another user, Aremu Ogunjimi, who has 10,000 followers, posted (archived here) the same video with the caption, “They said they are coming to Enugu and down to Port Harcourt, please let’s be careful, especially night movements.”
As of Friday, 30 May, 2025, his video had garnered 111 shares and over 18,000 plays.
Using the same caption as Aremu Ogunjimi, a Facebook page called “Enugu State News Update,” which has over 34,000 followers, posted (archived here) the same video. As of 30 May, the post had generated 38 shares, 15 likes, and four comments.
The video and narrative have appeared in other posts, as seen here (archived here) and here (archived here).
The comment section shows that the audience had begun violent, even separatist rhetoric.
For example, Abayomi Festus wrote, “I believe these people are overpampered. They should allow the people to roast any of them caught, and you will see others flee.”
Thomas Ojo added: “Are these not the same terrorists they want us to believe are innocent hunters? Hmmmm I see them all DEAD!”
Akin Akinola commented, “In my opinion, peaceful separation is the best option for us. That’s why we are currently advocating for the Yoruba Sovereign Independent Nation (YSIN).”
In a country already fraught with ethnic tension, claims like this can dangerously inflame public sentiment and provoke unrest. This prompted DUBAWA to investigate it.
Verification
We used the InVid video verification tool and discovered that the video is not recent but has been online since September 2024.
A Google Reverse Image Search of keyframes from the video led to a more extended version. X user @jrnnaib2 (Abdul-Aziz Na’ibi Abubakar) posted a two-minute video on Sept. 24, 2024 (archived here).
According to his post, the video shows terrorist gang leader Bello Turji responding to Barrister @bulamabukarti’s post about a N30 and N50 million levy imposed on residents of Moriki town, Zurmi LGA, Zamfara State. In the video, Turji urges the Chief of Defence, Christopher Musa, to recruit the Islamic cleric Murtala Asada to join the battlefield and face them directly.
This claim aligns with a Premium Times report published (archived here) on Sept. 13, 2024. The report revealed the full video was five minutes and 42 seconds long. In the video, Turji confirmed imposing a N50 million levy on Moriki town. He also mocked Bulama Bukarti, a social critic, and Dan Bello, a Hausa satirist who often criticises government corruption.
In the video, Turji, wielding a rifle, is flanked by heavily armed men in military camouflage, some carrying RPGs.
In the translation provided by Premium Times’ report, Turji was reportedly saying: “Yes, you are right, we imposed a N50 million levy on Moriki, but they have killed our brothers and 11 herds of cattle. So calculate it, it’s 1,707… So, call anyone in Moriki to prove me wrong. Listen to me, you Moriki people. I was born here, and so were you. There was never a time when a soldier from Enugu or Port Harcourt would be posted here and kill your brothers, and you would be happy and jubilant, and we would allow you to go free, and the west dogs would continue ranting about it.”
The original video was reportedly (archived here) recorded on Sept. 10, 2024, in connection with Bello Turji’s response to events in Zamfara State, not the alleged invasion of South-Eastern Nigeria.
The same video was shared on X in September 2024, as seen here (archived here) and here (archived here). This corroborated our earlier findings tracing the video to September 2024.
By sharing the part of the video where only Port Harcourt and Enugu are mentioned, the users deliberately misinterpret the wording and thus mislead the people.
Conclusion
The video currently circulating on Facebook is unrelated to any planned terrorist invasion of Enugu or Port Harcourt. The video, which has been circulating since 2024, was initially recorded in the context of armed violence in Zamfara State.
