By Shehu Uthman
Claim:
A Facebook user posted a viral video on Facebook, showing police officers directing and hailing a large number of gunmen as they passed through a checkpoint on their motorcycles at Musawa and Matazu local government Area of Katsina State.
Verdict:
Misleading.
Full Text:
A viral video has been going round the social media showing a gang of bandits moving in convoy with hundreds of bikes. Each bike carried two to three persons while the few police men available at the checkpoint kept watching, hailing, and greeting them.
This same footage was shared by many people on different social media platforms, as it can be seen here Baruten Nation, . A caption accompanying the video read in full:
“SaharaReporters posted a video on June 24, 2026 showing armed bandits on motorcycles passing freely through a police checkpoint in Northwest Nigeria. The officers were seen directing and even hailing/greeting the gunmen as they passed.”
The claim as of the time of making this report, had garnered over 726 likes, over 279 comments, 820 reshares, and 213 bookmarks.
A visit to the comment section shows that some people believed the narrative to be true.
A Facebook user, Adaniken Malford commented saying:
“Hmm are u sure, that police man is not the one feeding them that the road is clear.”
Similarly, Omb Ojo Orobosa John commented as thus:
“Tomorrow they will say they are looking for them”.
Equally, Abasi Ndowong wrote:
“Those that says are vigilantee not bandits
Does your village vigilante ever moved around with ammunitions?”
Given the growing circulation of the claim and its potential to misinform the public, this reporter made an investigation.
Verification:
In a bid to verify the claim, DIGEST PRESS subjected the image to MyAIFactChecker to ascertain the authenticity of the viral video alleging that uniformed police officers were seen interacting with armed bandits in Musawa and Matazu local government areas of Katsina State which was found to be false.
Therefore, the claim about the video's authenticity is not supported by the statements from the Nigeria Police Force.
However, when this reporter subjected the screenshot of the images of the video to ImageWhisperer, it shows that it was not an
The Nigerian Police Force through their page on Facebook has unequivocally debunked such an allegation by making it clear beyond peradventure that those people on bikes are not bandits but vigilantes who are on their way to operate in Masawa and Matazu local government Area of Katsina State.
Conversely, News Punch had debunked that claim also. Stating that the Nigeria Police Force has dismissed such false and misleading claims accompanying a viral video on social media.
The Force clarified that the individuals seen in the video are members of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria and registered hunters assisting security agencies in ongoing operations in Musawa and Matazu Local Government Areas of the state.
This was disclosed in a statement issued on Wednesday by the Force Public Relations Officer, Anietie Iniedu, clarifying that the video captured a routine interaction between a police officer and the security volunteers as they proceeded to a designated operational area.
The statement read, “For the avoidance of doubt, the individuals featured in the video are not bandits. They are duly recognised members of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria (VGN) and registered hunters who are actively supporting ongoing security operations in collaboration with security agencies in Musawa and Matazu Local Government Areas of Katsina State.”
The Premium Times, among other outstanding Main Livestream Media, has debunked that while making reference to the verdict given by the Nigerian Police Force.
In an exclusive interview with Digest Press, the Nigeria Police Force spokesperson_Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), CSP Anietie Okokon Edem Iniedu avers that he has debunked the claim on several social media platforms, while whining that many times than often, people see things circulating on social media but fails to call and confirm the true situation of it.
“I have nothing to say other than what I said in the official debunked circular released.
The issue is, a lot of people never reach out to confirm the true situation of matters and it's not everything we bring online,” he whined.
“It's pertinent to call to confirm if you hear information, a lot didn't call to confirm. This is a security of position, it's not everything you say or do,” he added.
In addition, the FPRO identified one of the Police Officers in the video as the former PRO of Zamfara State while declining the armed convoy to be bandits.
“I assured you that those people are not bandits. How would that number of bandits pass without killing the police men? And if you look at the barge, the Police officer in camouflaged is a senior officer __ the former PRO of Zamfara State.”
“How would such a number of bandits pass without killing the police men and collecting their guns?”
He encouraged the public to remain patient as necessary steps had already been put into place and relevant information will soon be released.
“Presently, there is an operation going on, I will not like to talk about it but when we are done, we will release relevant videos for Nigerians to know what is going on. I'm just waiting for the approval of my boss.”
Conclusion: Based on the verified facts presented, this viral video is misleading. The Nigeria Police Force has officially clarified that the individuals seen on motorcycles are not armed bandits but rather recognized members of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria and registered hunters. These volunteers were collaborating with security agencies during a routine operation in Musawa and Matazu, Katsina State, and the police officer's interaction with them was a normal part of their coordination, not an act of collusion with criminals.While the video itself is authentic and not AI-generated, the narrative accompanying it is entirely false. Claims that the incident occurred in Kano, Zamfara, or Sokoto are also inaccurate.
𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙈𝙪𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙧 𝙔𝙖𝙠𝙪𝙗'𝙨 𝙉𝘼𝘾𝙅-𝙐𝘿𝙐𝙎 𝙉𝙚𝙭𝙩-𝙂𝙚𝙣 𝙁𝙖𝙘𝙩-𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙘𝙠 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙊𝙎𝙄𝙉𝙏 𝙁𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥