A video of a man tortured by vigilantes for allegedly smuggling food to kidnappers and bandits in a forest in Abraka, Delta state has been widely shared on social media platforms and blogs. The video claims that the man is a palm wine tapper and was caught red-handed with food items (both raw and cooked), provisions, cigarettes, and other supplies for bandits hiding in the forest.
To verify the video and the claim, the Explainer Fact Checker took several screenshots of the video and subjected some of the frames to Google reverse image search. The result showed that the video has been in circulation since January 24, 2024. It was first published by Nairaland Forum, a popular online community in Nigeria, and then circulated on other social media platforms and blogs, such as Tik Tok, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. All the platforms and blogs used the same caption: “A palm wine tapper in Abraka Delta is caught supplying food (both raw and cooked), provisions, cigarettes etc to kidnappers and bandits in the forest”.
To further verify the claim, the Explainer Fact Checker conducted a keyword search on the claim, using terms such as “palm wine tapper”, “Abraka Delta”, “kidnappers”, “bandits”, “food supply”, and others. As important as the claim is, it should have been a breaking news headline on credible media platforms, but no such report was found. The only sources that reported the claim were the same social media platforms and blogs that shared the video.
The Explainer Fact Checker also visited the website and official social media platforms of the Delta State Police Command to check if there have been any official statement regarding the incident. At the time of conducting this fact check, there is no official statement from the Delta State Police Command.
Conclusion
Based on the available evidence, the Explainer Fact Checker concludes that the video and the claim are unverified. There is no independent confirmation or verification of the identity of the man, the location of the incident, the date of the incident, or the involvement of kidnappers and bandits.
