Fact-Check on Viral Video: Were Fulani ‘Smuggled/Imported’ into Nigeria in a Train to Get PVC 

Fact-Check on Viral Video: Were Fulani ‘Smuggled/Imported’ into Nigeria in a Train to Get PVC 

Claim: A video has gone viral on social media platforms, especially WhatsApp and Facebook claiming that Fulanis are imported from Mali, Chad, and Niger Republic into Nigeria to get Permanent Voters Card (PVC).

Full Text: Following the emergence of an unverified video, particularly on social media platforms, including WhatsApp, and Facebook, users have been awash with the clip, claiming that  Fulanis are being imported into Nigeria from some African countries to get PVC.

In the clip, the text: “2023 will be hot ooo..importation of fulani to get PVC.. In Nigeria” was boldly written on a black canvass. 

While also sharing the clip, a Facebook page, Biafra Restoration Voice quoted, “SHOCKING! The Importation Of Fulani’s Into Nigeria From Niger, Chad, Mali, To Get PVC Has Started VIDEO.”

Responding to the claim in the comment section, a Facebook user posted, “God is watching them period.” 

This claim is emerging in the wake of insecurity and the upcoming 2023 general election in Nigeria amidst rising concerns that some social media users are sharing fake news on social media.

Read Also: Fact-Check: Does INEC “Officially” Have 21 Voter’ Registration Centers in Niger Republic?  – PRNigeria News

Verification:  Going by the claim that travellers are coming to Nigeria as the ‘importation of Fulanis to get PVC in Nigeria’. Using Chrome extensions Invid fake news debunker, PRNigeria extracted image keyframes contained in the video and used the results to undertake a Google, Bing, and Yandex reverse image research.

Search results revealed that the footage was of passengers from Bangladesh aboard the “world busiest” train as they returned to celebrate Eid Holiday. 

The story was first published by UK online news,  Dailymail with the byline Tom Heaton  published on 13 May 2022.

Dailymail reports that the travellers were from Bangladesh as countless passengers were forced to cling to the front, sides and roof of the train as it rushed through the countryside.

According to Dailymail, the footage has captivated many viewers around the world, who were shocked that such dangerous transportation was allowed.

A Tiktok user, named @wonderlustco(https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMN6CgNGp/?k=1) had share the full video with the caption ‘people returning from home to Bangladesh. 

Conclusion/Verdict: The content of the video and the narrative that followed is misleading as the video was a footage showing thousands of Bangladeshi returnees packed aboard what was termed the “world busiest” train as they come back home for Eid as first reported by the UK’s Daily Mail. 

Therefore, based on the above verification by PRNigeria, the claim is false.