Viral Video Claiming Bandit Kingpins Visited Nigerian Senator Found to Be False — PRNigeria Investigation
A viral video circulating across social media platforms has been found to be misleading, after investigations revealed it falsely portrayed a group of visitors to a Nigerian senator as “high profile bandit kingpins.”
The footage, shared widely on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram by content creator D English Alhaji, claimed to show notorious bandits “on break” inside the residence of an unnamed senator.
The caption accompanying the video read: “These are high profile bandit kingpins in a senator house. Dey are on break here.”
The clip quickly generated intense reactions online, with many users demanding the identity of the senator. An online publication later referenced the footage, but its report relied solely on the social media claim without independently verifying the authenticity of the video or identifying the alleged senator.
A PRNigeria fact check has now established that the claim is false.
PRNigeria’s investigation found that the viral footage was created by merging two unrelated video clips.
The first segment shows several men dressed in traditional northern attire seated in a well furnished residence, conversing in Fulfulde.
During the discussion, one speaker advises against travelling with large sums of money, while another urges Fulani people to abandon theft and criminality.
The second segment features two different individuals displaying Nigerian international passports while speaking in English and Hausa.
One of them retrieves the passports from a vehicle and shows what appears to be a siren remote control. The passports belong to individuals from Akwanga, Nasarawa State.
A detailed review confirmed that the two segments were recorded in different locations and involved different individuals, making the claim that they depict the same event entirely unsupported.
Using reverse image searches and other open source intelligence (OSINT) tools, PRNigeria found no credible reports identifying any of the individuals in the video as bandits or terrorist kingpins.
Screenshots from the footage were compared with publicly available images of known bandit leaders, but no matches were found.
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Although a sack containing cash or clothing appears in one of the scenes, PRNigeria noted that its presence alone does not constitute evidence of criminal activity.
Further investigations identified the men in the first video as pilgrims who visited Senator Shehu Buba Umar, representing Bauchi South Senatorial District, in 2023 after returning from pilgrimage.
The visitors were identified as Kaduna based businessmen Alhaji Isa Usman and Alhaji Abubakar Bula.
PRNigeria found no evidence linking either man to banditry, terrorism or any criminal activity.
Barrister Musa Oga, an aide to Senator Buba, confirmed that the footage showed pilgrims paying a courtesy visit to the senator in 2023.
He described the viral video as part of a politically motivated campaign aimed at damaging the senator’s reputation ahead of the 2027 general elections.
According to him, the individuals portrayed in the video are legitimate businessmen, not criminal elements.
He warned that falsely linking a serving senator to banditry could incite public disorder and undermine confidence in democratic institutions.
PRNigeria contacted the content creator through WhatsApp, Instagram and telephone calls seeking clarification on the identities of the men and the source of the footage.
Although he initially responded, he later declined to provide any explanation or supporting evidence for his claims.
The fact check also noted that Senator Buba had previously been the target of an alleged cyberbullying campaign, leading to the arrest of a lawyer and four social media influencers over allegations of cyberstalking, extortion, defamation and related offences.
The Attorney General of the Federation subsequently took over the prosecution of the suspects, who are facing multiple charges before the Federal High Court.
Based on its investigation, PRNigeria concluded that the viral video was deliberately edited to merge two unrelated clips and falsely portray innocent individuals as bandit kingpins. The organisation found no evidence that the men shown were bandits or that any Nigerian senator hosted criminal elements.
PRNigeria described the claim as false and misleading, warning that the video forms part of a politically motivated misinformation campaign designed to damage reputations through manipulated digital content.
