Fact Check: Was a Replica of “Holy Kaaba” in Mecca Built for Muslim Pilgrims in Nigeria?

Fact Check: Was a Replica of “Holy Kaaba” in Mecca Built for Muslim Pilgrims in Nigeria? 

Claim: A viral video of Muslims dressed in pilgrimage attire circumambulating a model of the Kaaba  in Nigeria has gone viral on social media. 

The Kaaba is a specific holy site in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, considered the holiest place in Islam, and Muslims from all over the world travel there for pilgrimage.

Full Text: the video was posted on X by Arabic 24-hour rolling news channel broadcast Sky News with the following text, “a model of the Kaaba in Nigeria raised controversy and ignite social networking sites.”

The clip has been reproduced and shared across social media bloggers and Tik Tokers. 

Posting the video online, a Facebook user wrote, “New Kaaba in Nigeria, Nigerians will now keep their money’s ???? #odobibinii.”

Verification: to verify the authenticity and actual location, PRNigeria fact check ran keyword searches on open sources and results reveal a cross platform spread of the circumambulation video across Tik Tok, Facebook and X among others. 

An examination of the accompanying narrative suggested that the video emerged three days ago from Kano. 

PRNigeria fact check then broke the video into keyframes and ran a reverse image search and a metadata analysis of the images, while results revealed a variant of a similar Kaaba model in Ilorin, Kwara State, majority of findings points the location of the actual viral video to Kano State, Nigeria. 

Fact Check then shared keyframes with various Kano contacts for identification. All feedback confirmed that the location where the video originated from is Hajj Camp, Kano State Nigeria. 

PRNigeria then reached out to the Kano State Pilgrims Welfare Board, whom before responding invited the team to its office in Kano. 

Both PRNigeria fact check team and the public relations unit of the board reviewed the viral video together. 

The Public Relations Officer (PRO) Kano State Pilgrims Welfare Board, Sulaiman A Dederi then confirmed to this reporter that the location is at Hajj Camp in Kano and it’s a practical exercise that has been going on for over 20 years. 

“Not only the Kaaba model but every other paraphernalia of Hajj including the sites for Sa’e (Safa and Marwa), Jamarat al-Aqabah (throwing pebbles at Shaitan) etc were built with the idea of training intending Pilgrims on how they can perform Islamic ritual on Hajj before they travel to Saudi Arabia,” Dederi explained.

The Kano State Hajj Camp is a facility located in Kano, Nigeria, that serves as a staging point for Muslim pilgrims traveling to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj pilgrimage. 

The camp is operated by the Kano State Pilgrims Welfare Board, which is responsible for coordinating the travel arrangements and logistics for pilgrims from Kano State.

The camp provides various facilities and services to pilgrims, including accomodation, transportation, medical care, catering and religious guidance. 

The Kano State Hajj Camp is usually bustling with activity during the Hajj season. Thousands of pilgrims pass through the camp each year, and it plays an important role in facilitating their journey to Saudi Arabia.

Conclusion: findings by PRNigeria reveal that the viral video of model Kaaba and circumambulating “Pilgrims” originated from Hajj Camp in Kano Nigeria as part of pre departure orientation and exercise. The model was created strictly for practical purposes. 

PRNigeria therefore concludes that the claim by some social media users and bloggers that the viral video of Muslims dressed in pilgrimage attire circumambulating a model of the Kaaba in Nigeria is meant to replace the actual Hajj is Misleading and False. 

By PRNigeria