FACT-CHECK: Were UNIMAID Students Arrested for Being Boko Haram Informants?
Claim: A viral video circulating widely on social media platforms, including Facebook and WhatsApp, claims that some students of the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) were arrested for working hand-in-hand with Boko Haram insurgents.
Background: In the video, a narrator states: “See some students who dey work hand in hand with Boko Haram in the University of Maiduguri… they are informants of Boko Haram, their names are on the payroll… they are settled every month… they were apprehended when they caught the Oga of Boko Haram, and discovered their names.”
The video further suggests that the alleged students helped Boko Haram plan attacks by gathering intelligence and moving freely between mosques, churches, and other public places without suspicion.
The claim has triggered fear and outrage online, especially given Maiduguri’s long history as the epicentre of Boko Haram insurgency.
Borno state, especially Maiduguri has suffered violent attacks by Boko Haram, making allegations of insider collaboration highly sensitive. Claims that university students are secretly aiding insurgents risk deepening public mistrust, stigmatizing young people, and undermining confidence in educational institutions already operating under difficult security conditions.
Verification: To verify the claim, PRNigeria’s fact-check team subjected the viral video to rigorous checks using video verification tools, reverse image searches, and keyword tracking across social media platforms and discovered that the video started trending online between 12th and early hours on 13th January, 2026.
Read Also:
Our investigation revealed that the video currently being circulated is not recent. Further findings revealed that the footage originally surfaced in 2019, about six years ago.
Further findings corroborates the fact that contrary to the narration in the claim, the individuals shown in the video were suspected cultists arrested in Maiduguri in 2019, not Boko Haram informants.
Additional probing by PRNigeria fact-check team uncovered that there is no credible evidence linking the individuals in the footage to the University of Maiduguri or to Boko Haram insurgency.
Meanwhile, the University has issued a strong rebuttal in an official response reacting to the viral claim.
In a statement dated January 13, 2026, and signed by the university’s Registrar, Ahmad A. Lawan, UNIMAID described the allegation as: “False, baseless, and mischievous.”
The university categorically stated that no student of UNIMAID has been arrested or linked to Boko Haram or any similar extremist group, adding that the claim was aimed at tarnishing the institution’s image.
The statement was issued to journalists in Maiduguri and has been reported by multiple credible media outlets, as seen here and here, with no indication that it is fabricated or unreliable.
Conclusion: PRNigeria’s verification confirms that the viral video alleging that University of Maiduguri students were caught as Boko Haram informants is false. A 2019 incidence has been deliberately misrepresented to create panic and discredit the institution.
Verdict: FALSE!
By PRNigeria
