Bandits Ordered All Churches In Nigeria To Shut Down? Fact Emerges

Gusau, Zamfara state – A Facebook post claims that armed groups known as ‘bandits’ are threatening to close all churches in Nigeria in a bid to take control of the country.

A screenshot with the photo of Ayuba Elkana, a Zamfara state commissioner of police, accompanied the post. Elkana appears to be addressing the media during a live broadcast. The logo of Africa Independent Television (AIT) can also be seen in the screengrab.

The poorly-worded post, dated May 16 2024, reads:

“Bandits have sent threat letter asking all churches in Nigeria to close down, that they own Nigeria and they want to take over their country back (sic).

“Let’s be careful and security conscious please. The police warns.”

Bandits’ threat: Recycled video

Due to the sensitive nature of the post, a fact-checking platform, Africa Check, decided to investigate it.

Following its scrutiny, the media platform ruled that the video of the threat letter sent by bandits to churches is an old video that has been online since 2021.

In the same vein, another fact-checking platform, Dubawa, also investigated the claim and declared that the post was false.