A viral video circulating on social media in Nigeria has sparked widespread concern over the alleged abduction of 200 children, but an investigation has revealed that the claim is misleading and actually refers to a case from last year.
Misleading Social Media Posts: 16 Abducted Children Found in Nigeria, Not 200
In January 2025, social media users in Nigeria shared a video claiming to show 200 missing children who were found in a house in Rivers state. However, this claim is misleading.
The posts included a 46-second video showing a group of startled-looking children being ushered to safety by a crowd of adults. The account sharing the clip has more than a thousand followers and shares random content, especially about the Igbo culture and its people.
Old Case Resurfaced
AFP Fact Check found that the same video went viral in October 2024 with the same claim. However, Nigeria’s Rivers State Police spokeswoman Grace Iringe-Koko rejected the clip and claims as misleading at the time.
In September 2024, operatives of the Rivers State Police Command attached to the Ozuoba division acted on credible information received and rescued sixteen children from a compound in Ozuoba, Port Harcourt. The rescued children comprising eleven girls, and five boys were alleged to be victims of trafficking.
Confirmation by Police Spokeswoman
When contacted by AFP Fact Check in January 2025, Iringe-Koko reconfirmed that the video circulating online was a year old and related to the abduction of 16 children. She explained that a resident had tipped off officers about a house containing numerous minors who were on their own.
Upon investigation, it was found that four of these children belonged to a female guardian, but she had been arrested by Akwa Ibom police officers on a case of murder. The children were suspected to be victims of child trafficking and had been handed over to the state’s ministry of social welfare.
The misleading posts on Facebook and Instagram have been shared thousands of times, causing unnecessary alarm among social media users. It is essential to verify information before sharing it online to avoid spreading misinformation.
