By Quadri Yahya
Claim
An X user, Rodemi Femi claims Amotekun Corp and local hunters in Ekiti State ‘captured’ ‘children kidnappers’ ‘using drones to find and locate them’.
Verdict
The claim is misleading. The video is not related to the arrest of suspected abductors of Ekiti schoolchildren.
Full Text
For some weeks now, reports on kidnapping-for-ransom have taken prominence on pages of national newspapers due to its recurrence across Nigerian states, including the Federal Capital Territory.
The government has charged security heads to take the bull by its horns and go after kidnappers. One such operation has led to the raiding of kidnappers’ hideouts in Imo, Enugu, Rivers states and the country’s capital, Abuja.
On Feb. 3rd, a social media user shared a video, captioned:
“Ekiti children kidnappers captured by Amotekun and local hunters using drones to find and locate them. Combination of intelligence, technology and raw courage. Imagine what local police can achieve!”
In the video, seven young men – cement dust on their bodies – with sustained injuries were put at the back of a pickup truck. One of the trucks has the Amotekun Corp design on it, while the other has ‘NPTF 2020 INTERVENTION’ inscribed on it.
One hundred and sixty-six people have viewed the video; it has garnered 2,500 engagements as well. The claim was also shared here and here.
The claim in the video is unconnected with the recent kidnapping case of schoolchildren around Ekiti State.
Recall that the school bus conveying the pupils and three teachers, including the driver, was ambushed by the gunmen suspected to be kidnappers on Monday, along Eporo-Ekiti road, a boundary between Ondo and Ekiti States.
Verification
FactCheckAfrica observed that people questioned the authenticity of the video via the comment section under the X post.
One of the commentators shared a Jan. 17th report by TheCable about the arrest of five robbery suspects by the Amotekun Corp in Osun State. Three suspects were reportedly killed.
According to reports, the state commander of Amotekun, Bashiru Adewinmbi said the state security outfits foiled an armed robbery attack on Dangote Integrated Steel Rolling Mills in the Osogbo metropolis and arrested the suspects.
A screenshot from the video featured in a news report published on Jan. 17th indicates that the video had been online before the Ekiti kidnapping incidents.
Conclusion
Findings revealed that the trending video does not show ‘children kidnappers’ being captured. Rather, the injured young people are suspected armed robbers.
The claim that drones and local intelligence aided the capturing of kidnappers was unverified.
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