This Trending Video Is Not Showing Arrested Kidnappers Of Ekiti School Children
The video, which went viral on social media on Saturday evening, first surfaced online on Jan. 16 when local security agents arrested armed robbers in Osun, South West Nigeria.
A video accompanied by the false claim that Amotekun, a regional security network in South West Nigeria, has arrested kidnappers of school children in Ekiti has recently gone viral on social media, particularly X (formerly known as Twitter) and WhatsApp.
“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,” a social media user, @RashwalRashwal, said on the evening of Feb. 3 after uploading the video.
The post has been viewed over 417,000 times and reposted over 1,100 times as of Sunday morning.
“This is a big shame to the police force. We need state police now. This (is)nothing but courage and determination. We say a big thank you to them,” one user of the social media platform said while re-sharing the video.
To confirm the authenticity of the post, HumAngle did a Google reverse image search. We discovered that the video first appeared online on Jan. 16, when local security agents arrested some armed robbers in Osun State.
The persons in the viral video were arrested by the Amotekun Anti-Cultism Squad in a joint operation with the Police Anti-Cultism unit during an armed robbery operation at Dangote Integrated Steel Rolling Mills in Osogbo.
Ekiti State Police Spokesperson Sunday Abutu also told HumAngle that while the kidnapped students and teacher have regained freedom on Sunday morning, no arrest has been made.
“All victims were rescued today at about 1:30 am, but unfortunately, we lost the driver who was likely killed by the abductors,” he said.
“Not yet,” he added in respect of arrests made, “but the operation shall continue as we want to ensure that the perpetrators are apprehended and made to face the full wrath of the law.”
Some students were kidnapped on Monday evening along Emure–Eporo Road while returning home from school. The incident, among many others, has led to public outcry, as many social media users are demanding the creation of state police.
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