Was There a Recent Secret Alliance Between the Nigerian Army and Fulani Terrorists?
On April 24, 2025, a Facebook user, Kanu Chinenye Oluchukwu posted two photos of unidentified civilians and some men clad in military uniforms with the caption: “Shock and fear grip Katsina State as Nigerian Army representatives secretly meet with notorious Fulani terrorists, this is Nigerian Army representatives in meeting with Fulani dreaded terrorists in Katsina state yesterday. These are people who have killed thousands of civilians and military men being in a meeting with the Army in katsina state. Maybe the Nigerian army plans to integrate them in the army.”
As of the time this report was published, the post had gained a share and two likes.
VERIFICATION
To verify this claim, NV-A conducted a related keyword search and used verification plugins to identify the persons in the photos posted.
Our search came back with reports published months ago. A report by The Guardian, published on January 20, 2025, confirms that security operatives did meet up with bandits representatives in Katsina in a bid to strike a possible amnesty deal in Batsari local government area of Katsina state. The meeting was held openly in Kofa village, with attendance from military personnel, State Security Service (DSS), government representatives and bandits.
Daily Post Nigeria also published a report detailing the peace deal and arms surrender ceremony between the military and bandits in Katsina state. The report noted that this was held on January 19, 2025, in Batsari town and was attended by military representatives and other stakeholders in order to ensure transparency.
During the ceremony, the bandits laid down four AK47 rifles and freed 15 captives, including three men, eight women, and four children. Military sources reported that the development came after intense operations by the combined forces of Operation Fasan Yanma. They stressed that the deal was not a peace negotiation but a step toward disarmament and the release of all kidnap victims.
Our verification of the pictures with Google reverse image search, also corroborated this with several credible news reports that showed that the photos posted were not from recent dealings, but from months ago.
CONCLUSION
The claim that the Nigerian Army had a secret alliance with bandits in Katsina state recently is MISLEADING. The peace deal between the Nigerian army and bandit representatives was not conducted in secret according to reports and it was held in January 2025, not April as claimed in the Facebook post.
