A video purportedly showing a lifeless body on the ground has been circulating on Facebook, with the claim that the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, is killing northerners doing business in Orlu Market near Total Roundabout in Imo State, Nigeria.
The Facebook user, Eze Awo Omamma Kingdom with 15,000 followers posted the clip on November, 6th, 2024 with a caption; “Ipob ESN criminals terrorist has stated again by killing Northerners that are doing their little/meager businesses in Orlu, happened yesterday at Orlu Old Market near Total Roundabout and Orlu International Market near Imo State University Teaching Hospital and Okporo Market in Orlu, more videos loading.”
As of the time this report was published, the claim has garnered over 1,300 plays, 6 reactions, 5 comments and 3 reposts. One, Oluchukwu Umensofor commented under the post saying, “Please say what you know,” another Facebook user, Jonas Okoronkwo made the same comment, “say what you know mugu.”
Under the same post, Bee Bee Geology commented, “U talk nonsense sometimes.. we’re u there when this thing happened yesterday? I was inside the market when this happened…. Why calling IPOB out on this matter now. Get sense sometimes.”
There has been news buzz about an attack in Imo state a few days earlier and this prompted NV-A to take a deep look at the claim and accompanying video.
VERIFICATION
The fact-checker conducted a keyword search on Imo and Orlu, the search result included news articles from The Guardian Nigeria, Daily Trust, The Punch, The Nation confirming that there was a bomb explosion at the International market, Orlu on Tuesday, November 5 2024.
A statement released by the state’s police spokesman, ASP Henry Okoye disclosed that two people died and several others sustained injuries from the explosion while scampering to safety. Okoye stated that two people who were the hoodlums setting up the improvised explosive device (IED) were killed when it accidentally detonated.
To verify if the video from Facebook came from the same explosion incident, NV-A took a screenshot from the clip and subjected it to Google Lens, the search result revealed an exact image but we could not get any information as the original post had already been deleted by the user who posted it on X, @Onsogbu.
However, a keyword search led this reporter to the same claim posted on X but was swiftly dismissed by ASP Okoye. His quote reply reads: Fake News! Fake News! Fake News!This is an old video. Nothing like this happened in the South East Yesterday.
When NV-A contacted the Police department in Imo State for information about the alleged killing of northerners by IPOB, a female responder who picked the call said that their command had not received such information.
“We have not received that kind of information”, she said, before hanging the calls.
CONCLUSION
The claim that Northerners are being killed by IPOB in Imo State, is MISLEADING. Findings by NV-A, and correspondence from police authorities in the state indicate that there was an explosion in the international market, Orlu, Imo State but the two people who died from the incident, were the hoodlums setting up IED when it detonated.
