IN SHORT: Several social media posts claim that Tukur Buratai, the former chief of army staff in Nigeria, was attacked in his hometown. However, the attack was on Buratai, a town in Borno state, not on the former army chief.
A post on Facebook claims that Tukur Buratai, Nigeria’s former chief of army staff, escaped an attack by Boko Haram in early July 2025.
The post, dated 9 June, reads: “Former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai (retd), narrowly escaped de*th on Friday after his convoy came under a heavy gunfire attack in Borno State.”
Other versions of the post claim that lawmaker Ali Ndume brought the incident to the public’s attention during an interview on Channels TV.
Part of one such post reads: “A former Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai escaped an attack from some members of the Boko Haram terrorist group, a lawmaker Ali Ndume has disclosed.”
They also quote Ndume as saying: “We are in a dire security situation. Just two days ago, Buratai was attacked at the front operations base in Borno. His team responded gallantly, but the insurgents managed to destroy several military assets.”
Several news outlets also reported that Boko Haram had attacked the former army chief and his convoy in his hometown, and cited Ndume as the source.
Boko Haram is an Islamist movement and a terrorist group whose violent activities have been reported in the northern parts of the country.
The former army chief’s hometown is also called Buratai and is located in Borno state, northeastern Nigeria.
But did Buratai and his convoy escape an attack in his hometown? We checked.
Buratai town, not the former army chief, was attacked.
Africa Check found Ndume’s interview posted by Channels TV on YouTube on 8 June. While discussing president Bola Tinubu’s performance since taking office, Ndume said that security in Nigeria needed to be addressed.
“We are in a dire situation. Even two days ago, Buratai was attacked. The front operation base in Borno, Buratai, was attacked. Their soldiers stood up to it, but they made destruction of our assets,” he said around the 13:17 mark of the interview.
On 9 June, Butarai released a statement, dismissing the claim that he narrowly escaped an attack by Boko Haram.
Buratai’s spokesperson said he was in the capital Abuja, not in Buratai town, at the time of the attack.
“This baseless rumour is a product of the reckless imagination of the purveyors of fake news, individuals whose sole aim is to malign him, spread fear, confusion and misinformation.”
On the same day, Ndume also debunked the claim and described the reports as a misrepresentation of his comments, adding that Buratai town, and not the former army chief, was attacked.
Ndume told the media: “I am surprised that the town Buratai could be misconstrued as the person of General Buratai, who incidentally hails from the town.”
The claim that the former army chief escaped a Boko Haram attack in June 2025 is false.
For publishers: what to do if your post is rated false
A fact-checker has rated your Facebook or Instagram post as “false”, “altered”, “partly false” or “missing context”. This could have serious consequences. What do you do?
Click on our guide for the steps you should follow.
Publishers guideAfrica Check teams up with Facebook
Africa Check is a partner in Meta's third-party fact-checking programme to help stop the spread of false information on social media.
The content we rate as “false” will be downgraded on Facebook and Instagram. This means fewer people will see it.
You can also help identify false information on Facebook. This guide explains how.
Add new comment