IN SHORT: The Oyo state government has asked Nigerians to stop sharing a horrific old video of a kidnapping hideout, littered with dismembered human body parts. The video has been online for over 10 years.
Warning: This fact-check links to a disturbing video.
A video posted on Facebook features horrific footage of dismembered human body parts and bloodstains and has been linked to ritual killings in Ibadan in Oyo state, southwestern Nigeria.
Posted on 4 November 2024, the caption reads: “The Afonja ritualists are more concerned about the coming of Biafra, but this is what is happening in their backyard.”
A voice-over to the video says eight people were rescued from the uncompleted building in the video and taken to the hospital for medical attention.
The video also shows people commenting on the horrific scene, describing it as the handiwork of kidnappers who killed to sell human parts to ritualists.
Kidnapping is a significant security challenge in Nigeria, with incidents reported across various states.
It involves the abduction of individuals for ransom or even the trade of human body parts. The sale of human body parts has also been linked to ritualistic practices.
The same video was posted here, here, here. here, here and here.
But is the video from 2024? We checked.
Video from 2014
Africa Check noticed that the video features the logo of a popular television station, TVC News, so we conducted a keyword search related to the claim.
The exact video was posted on the station's YouTube page on 25 March 2014 with the caption: “Ibadan Den of Horror.”
Further searching revealed that the horror-scene was discovered in Ibadan, Oyo state, southwestern Nigeria. A group of motorcyclists organised a search party for a missing colleague and stumbled across the hideout.
Human remains, skeletal bodies, and evidence of captivity and ritual killings were found at the site.
The news rocked Nigeria in 2014, leading to extensive media reports of the event.
In a statement signed and released to the media in November 2024, the Oyo state government said that some old videos about the incident were being re-circulated as recent, and asked the public not to further spread the old story.
“It is public knowledge that the Soka incident happened in March 2014 – more than ten years ago,” the government said.
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