CLAIM: A viral post attributed to a Facebook page known as “I News” has circulated widely online, claiming that the Abia State government has directed Igbo residents to retaliate against the Fulani by killing five Fulani persons for every Igbo person killed in Abia State.
The post, which is written in violent and provocative language, claims that the Fulani have an agenda to destroy the Igbo people and encourages immediate retaliation without involving the military or security agencies.
The post read in part:
“Just in: If any Fulani person kills an Igbo man in any part of Abia State, retaliate immediately by eliminating five of them. Do not wait or call for military assistance. Kill them and bury them”.
It further stresses that Abia State, as the heart of Igbo land, must not be treated like Plateau State.
A photo collage accompanying the post includes a man herding cattle while armed and a separate portrait of Abia State Governor Alex Otti—both images seemingly included to imply official or ethnic authority.
Findings: To verify this provocative claim, The Explainer launched a multilayered investigation. The Explainer conducted a thorough investigation into the source of the viral post, which was attributed to a Facebook page named “I News.” Upon examination, it was determined that this page is unverified and lacks the hallmarks of a credible news outlet. Its content history includes unsubstantiated claims and provocative language, raising significant concerns about its reliability.
Further search revealed that “I News” is associated with a network of disinformation websites operated by activists from the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) movement. According to a study published by the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University, platforms like “I News” and “Exclusive103” have been identified as disseminators of misleading and divisive content, often under the guise of legitimate news reporting. These outlets have been flagged by fact-checking organizations such as Dubawa for spreading false information and engaging in coordinated inauthentic behavior.
This pattern of activity aligns with broader concerns about the proliferation of fake news in Nigeria, particularly on social media platforms like Facebook.
The Explainer then moved to confirm whether any such statement had been issued by the Abia State government or its officials.
The Explainer thoroughly reviewed press releases, official social media accounts, and public statements by Governor Alex Otti and relevant government ministries. No record of any directive or rhetoric resembling the viral claim was found.
In a related incident reported on April 4, 2025, the Governor’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ferdinand Ekeoma, debunked a similar rumour that the government had engaged the Eastern Security Network (ESN) to combat herders in the state. Ekeoma described the story as “false, malicious, and misleading,” stating that the government would not sponsor illegality under any guise.
Moreover, in November 2024, the same spokesperson clarified that the government believed opposition politicians were behind certain violent attacks in the state — not ethnic groups like the Fulani or IPOB.
Next, The Explainer examined whether mainstream media organisations, reputable regional outlets, or national security agencies had reported any such directive. None did. No radio, television, or newspaper platform—national or local—carried this report. The Nigerian Police Force and the Department of State Services have also not issued any warning or advisory about such a directive or any security situation suggesting its basis.
To establish factual context, The Explainer examined data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), which tracks incidents of political violence and protest globally. According to ACLED’s dataset on Nigeria, Abia State recorded only two isolated incidents related to herder-farmer tensions throughout 2024, with no evidence of sustained, targeted attacks by Fulani groups on Igbo residents.
In contrast, The Explainer found that states such as Benue and Plateau reported dozens of conflict-related fatalities, reinforcing that these areas remain hotspots for such violence. For example, a report by Amnesty International confirmed that over 2,800 people were killed in farmer-herder clashes in Benue between January 2023 and February 2024. This figure aligns with local findings by Daily Trust, which previously reported over 5,000 deaths in 87 months in Benue due to the same conflict.
These independent data points undercut the narrative that Abia State is facing a coordinated or escalating Fulani agenda. Rather, they indicate that the epicentres of farmer-herder clashes remain concentrated in the Middle Belt, not in the South-East, where Abia is located.
To evaluate the visual materials attached to the post, The Explainer conducted reverse image searches. The photo of the armed cattle herder has been in public circulation since at least 2018 and has appeared in multiple unrelated reports on pastoral conflict in West Africa. For instance, a 2018 BBC News article titled “Fake news and Nigeria’s herder crisis” discusses the misuse of images in the context of Nigeria’s herder-farmer conflicts, highlighting how old or unrelated photographs have been repurposed to inflame tensions. The portrait of Governor Alex Otti, meanwhile, is a commonly used profile image that has been lifted from unrelated news articles, thus falsely inserted to lend legitimacy to the claim.
The Explainer also considered the legal implications of the viral post calling for retaliatory violence against Fulani people. According to Nigerian law, such rhetoric carries severe consequences.
To verify this, The Explainer consulted the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015, which criminalises the use of digital platforms to threaten, intimidate, or incite violence. Section 24 of the Act prohibits messages that are “grossly offensive” or cause “annoyance, inconvenience, danger, obstruction, insult, injury, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred or ill will.” its provisions clearly apply to inciting violence online.
The Explainer also reviewed the Terrorism (Prevention) Act, 2013, which defines terrorism to include “acts deliberately done with malice to intimidate a population or compel a government or organisation to act or abstain from acting.” The call to “eliminate five of them” if one Igbo person is killed fits this description, as it encourages retaliatory ethnic violence.
Furthermore, The Explainer found that both the National Orientation Agency (NOA) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) have repeatedly warned citizens against spreading hate speech or inciting ethnic strife. In one public advisory, the NOA reminded Nigerians that “hate speech is anti-progress and capable of tearing apart the national fabric.”
These laws and public advisories demonstrate that the viral post not only contravenes Nigerian legislation but also poses a grave risk to public peace, particularly in a country already strained by ethno-religious tensions.
Verification: FALSE
In conclusion, The Explainer finds the claim to be categorically false.
