IN SHORT: According to some Facebook posts, a 17-year-old boy from Enugu state in Nigeria has made a bomb that “possesses an astonishing level of destructive power”. But this is not true, and the three photos accompanying the claim are from unrelated events.
Some Facebook posts claim that an Igbo teenager from Nigeria’s Enugu state has made a very powerful bomb.
As evidence, the posts include three photos: the first shows a young man in a blue blazer, and the other two show what appear to be parts of the bomb and the resulting explosion.
The caption accompanying the photos reads, in part: “In a shocking revelation, reports have emerged of a young Igbo boy from Enugu who has allegedly constructed a hydro metallic bomb that possesses an astonishing level of destructive power.”
The Igbos are one of the largest tribes in Nigeria. They live mainly in the southern states of Anambra, Abia, Imo, Ebonyi and Enugu.
Nigeria has experienced serious security challenges in recent years, including terrorist attacks, banditry, militancy, kidnapping for ransom and more.
Nigerian law prohibits the possession and use of illegal firearms, ammunition, locally manufactured or modified weapons, and devices that are likely to cause death or injury.
The claim has also been posted here, here and here.
But did a young man from Nigeria’s Enugu state build such a bomb? We checked.
Photos show unrelated events
A Google reverse image search showed that the image of the young man was first published in June 2023 in an article in the Daily Express. The teenager was identified as Harry Acheampong, a British-Ghanaian and interim prime minister of the children’s parliament in the UK.
The second photo of an explosion has been used in various news articles since at least 2018, so it couldn’t possibly show an event in 2024.
The third photo shows an explosive device dismantled by police near a mosque in the city of Hangu in Pakistan, according to a report on the Express Tribune website.
Given the security problems in Nigeria, reports of a bomb being built by a young man would have been covered by the media. But we found no such reports from credible news outlets.
Republish our content for free
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