Was An Elephant Sighted In Akwa Ibom State?

A Facebook user on August 9, 2025, shared some footage of an elephant with excited onlookers, with the claim that the elephant was sighted in Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria. The post is captioned “M¡ssing El€phants, finally landed Somewhere in Akwa Ibom state. As At Yesterday,  8th of August 2025, report across social media had it that some El€phants (in form of the returning ancestors) were found inside a village at Ikot Ekpaw, in MKPAT ENIN LGA, AKWA IBOM STATE ”.

There were over 190 reactions, comments and shares on the post, as of when this report was published.

VERIFICATION

NV-A subjected the images to Google Reverse Image Search and the result showed that the pictures were first posted on August 8, 2025.

A wandering elephant was spotted in Ilotombi community, Andoni local government area, Rivers State. The sighting occurred on Friday, August 8, 2025, and was shared on social media by a local resident named Ezekiel Ngor. Earlier, similar sightings have been reported, especially around Ikuru Town in Andoni LGA, where elephants occasionally emerge from forest areas.

Andoni Island and Mainland are known habitats for the African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) and other endangered species, such as the pygmy hippopotamus. Community-level studies show that elephants are the most frequent wildlife involved in human–wildlife conflicts in Ilotombi and nearby communities, primarily due to foraging behaviour.

In 2021, the Andoni Local Government declared wild elephants and hippos in the area as endangered species, reflecting ongoing conservation concerns.

CONCLUSION

The claim that elephants were spotted in Akwa Ibom is MISLEADING as findings reveal that it happened in Andoni local government, in Rivers state, and posted on an earlier date than the claim.