Fact-Check: Are School Girls in Northern Nigeria Undergoing Gun Training ‘Practicals’ as Seen in a Viral Video?
Claim: A viral video showing girls in school uniforms and handling guns in what seem like a rifle training exercise claims that primary and secondary school children in northern Nigeria are being taught how to dismantle and shoot guns as part of their practical in school.
In the 36-second footage, a girl wearing a white-and-sky blue school uniform is seen dismantling a rifle and cocking it, while other schoolchildren lined up on her left flank observe her and listen to instructions in an unidentified language.
The video is accompanied by a text warning viewers: “VIEWERS DISCRETION STRONGLY ADVISED: SEE WHAT NORTHERN PRIMARY/SECONDARY SCHOOLS ARE BEING TAUGHT AS THEIR PRACTICAL. WAHALA DEY FOR OUR FUTURE.”
Verification: To verify the claim, PRNigeria fact-checked the 36-second video and found several inconsistencies.
School Uniform and Attire: The girl in the footage is not wearing a hijab, which is commonly worn by Muslim girls in schools across northern Nigeria. Additionally, her skirt length is at knee level, whereas northern Nigerian schoolgirls typically wear longer skirts that cover their ankles.
Language Analysis: The language spoken in the background was not Hausa, the dominant language in northern Nigeria. This suggests the video may not have been filmed in the region.
Background Voice Analysis: A background voice, likely an instructor, can be heard repeatedly saying “second adi” and other vernacular phrases whose meanings could not be immediately determined.
Therefore, PRNigeria broke the video and conducted a reverse image search using TinEye, an image fact-checking tool. The search revealed that the video had been posted by a Facebook account named Sam Sang Ida Mwe, where a commenter expressed certainty that the video was filmed in Kenya.
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Another Facebook page, Brodamike Fan, also shared the video, with the narrator clearly stating that the exercise took place in South Sudan.
Additionally, a commenter on a different Facebook account also suggested that the location was South Sudan, claiming the phrase “second sadi” sounded like a South Sudanese expression. According to the commenter, a tribe in South Sudan speaks a language similar to Dholuo, and their naming conventions match, citing the example that instead of “Achieng,” they use “Nyachieng.”
Further Investigation
PRNigeria fact-checked the language spoken and discovered that Dholuo is indeed a Luo language spoken in South Sudan, alongside other languages like Dinka, Nuer, and Bari.
PRNigeria also researched the phrase “what is time?” in Dholuo or Luo, discovering that in Luo, the word for “time” is “saa.” To ask “What time is it?” one would say “En saa adi?”.
Upon comparison, “second adi” appears to be a corrupted version of “En saa adi,” which means “What time is it?” in Luo.
War Situation in South Sudan
South Sudan has been devastated by a civil war fought from 2013 to 2020 between government and opposition forces. The war resulted in widespread human rights violations, including forced displacement, ethnic massacres, and the killing of journalists. Since the war’s end, South Sudan has been governed by a coalition of former warring factions, led by Salva Kiir Mayardit and Riek Machar. The country continues to recover, but ethnic violence remains a significant issue.
Conclusion: findings by PRNigeria reveals that the footage being touted to have emanated from school practicals in northern Nigeria was most likely filmed in South Sudan, not northern Nigeria.
Verdict: PRNigeria therefore concludes that the claim that school children in viral video allegedly undergoing gun training as part of their practical excercise in northern Nigerian schools is False.
By PRNigeria
