Is It True Bandits Are Cooking Human Flesh? Fact Emerges
- A video showing men cooking in large pots went viral on X, Facebook, and Instagram with claims it showed bandits preparing human flesh
- The original TikTok account that uploaded the footage carried no caption linking the men to banditry or any criminal activity
- Fact-checkers contacted the account owner, who said the video was filmed during a traditional wedding in Gombe State
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A video showing several men gathered around large cooking pots in an open field spread rapidly across social media in July 2026, accompanied by claims that it showed armed bandits preparing human flesh.
The footage circulated on X, Facebook, and Instagram by one X user. Not everyone accepted the claim. X user Ade (@Ade_Lee19) challenged the post directly, asking: "Who is paying u people to paint Nigeria black? How did u know it was human meat, and how did u know they were bandits? Did U have any evidence?" Another user, geeked Rick (@badboyriick), similarly questioned: "How did you confirm it was human meat?"
Source: Original
Gombe bandits: What fact-checkers found
Nigerian fact-checking organisation, Dubawa, reviewed the video and noted that the men in the footage were not visibly armed and wore no uniforms or other markers associated with armed groups. Several motorcycles were parked nearby, and a Hausa song played in the background, but the clip contained no narration, captions, or other details identifying the location, the people, or what was being cooked.
Reverse image searches on Google Lens, Yandex Images, and TinEye returned no earlier or verified versions of the footage. Investigators then traced the TikTok watermark visible on the circulating copies to the account @ahmadumuhammed463 and found that the original upload carried no caption making any such claim.
According to Dubawa, the account owner, Muhammad Ahmadu, known online as Gombawa, was contacted through the WhatsApp number listed on his TikTok profile. Speaking in Hausa, he said the footage was recorded during a traditional Fulani wedding celebration for his two younger brothers, Adamu Musa and Ahmadu Musa, at Fandi Kara Lalaipido in Shongom Local Government Area of Gombe State. The wedding ceremony took place on Saturday, January 31, 2026, while the cooking shown in the viral clip was part of festivities held the following day, Sunday, February 1, 2026.
Gombe: 17 videos provided as evidence
To support his account, Ahmadu supplied 17 videos from the same event, covering different stages of the celebration, including the slaughter of cows, food preparation, and other wedding activities. The controversial clip forms only one short segment of that wider footage. DUBAWA reviewed all 17 videos and confirmed the viral clip was drawn directly from the wedding recording.
Ahmadu said he was disappointed that other users had attached a criminal narrative to footage he posted without any such suggestion.
Thus, it was concluded that the claim is false and that the video shows a legitimate community celebration, not a bandit camp.
Source: Facebook
List of former generals killed by bandits
Legit.ng earlier reported that Nigeria has been faced with the challenges of insecurity for decades, with hundreds of lives lost and millions of properties destroyed.
Several serving military and other personnel of the country's security operatives have been killed, including retired generals.
The lingering insecurity has become a major topic of discussion in the country ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Source: Legit.ng
