Did Trump Apologise to Tinubu Over Terrorism Claims? Fact Emerges

Did Trump Apologise to Tinubu Over Terrorism Claims? Fact Emerges

  • A social media account posting as @OluremiTinubu claimed Donald Trump apologised to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over accusations about Nigeria's terrorism situation
  • The viral post gathered over 100,000 views and dozens of comments, with some users doubting the claim and others believing it
  • Trump has repeatedly expressed concern about violence against Christians in Nigeria, condemning the alleged targeted killings

Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has more than five years of experience in fact-checking, investigative journalism, and public-interest reporting, with a strong track record of producing impactful, evidence-based stories that promote transparency and accountability.

FCT, Abuja - A viral post on X (formerly Twitter) claimed that United States President Donald Trump had apologised to Nigerian President Bola Tinubu for accusations made about Nigeria's handling of terrorism, but a fact-check has found the claim to be false.

The post, shared on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, by an account using the handle @OluremiTinubu, included a screenshot of what appeared to be a news broadcast.

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An X user claimed that US President Donald Trump apologised to Nigerian President Bola Tinubu for past accusations, but the claim misrepresented events, as Trump did not issue the alleged apology.
A viral X post claimed Trump apologised to Tinubu over past accusations; thus, Legit.ng examined if the US president truly issued the alleged apology. Photo credit: @realDonaldTrump, @officialABAT
Source: Twitter

The caption read:

"BREAKING: Donald Trump apologised to President Tinubu for the unfounded accusations made over the past year. According to Trump, he 'was wrong about the Nigerian authorities' culpability regarding the current terrorism situation in the country…"

By Tuesday, October 13, 2026, the post had racked up over 109,000 views, 1,000 likes, 465 comments and 344 reposts.

See the X post below:

A similar claim was shared on Facebook here and here.

Verification of Trump-Tinubu claim

This digital media platform ran a reverse image search on the screenshot and found it traced back to a video shared on X on August 31, 2026, by World Source News.

That video showed Trump speaking about the Strait of Hormuz, with no mention of Nigeria or President Tinubu.

Further searches uncovered a longer version of the same footage shared by Northeast Live, an Indian satellite news channel, on September 1, 2026. That post quoted Trump saying:

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"Iran is a failed nation… But that doesn't mean we will not smack them. We have the Strait of Hormuz in extremely good shape… Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. If Iran had a nuclear weapon, Israel would have been wiped out."

Watch the video below via Facebook:

Reuters, Al Jazeera, Fox News, AP News, and Iran International reported on the story in August 2026.

They said Trump made the remarks after Iran launched missiles at two US air bases in Jordan in response to US strikes on Iran’s Larak Island.

International news outlets reported on Trump’s remarks about Iran in August 2026. AI detection tools flagged the claimant’s image as potentially manipulated, and no Nigerian or international news outlet reported that Trump apologised to President Tinubu.
Donald Trump did not apologise to Bola Tinubu over terrorism claims. Legit.ng’s fact-check found no credible media report confirming the alleged Trump-Tinubu apology. Photo credit: Getty
Source: Getty Images

On Trump's official Truth Social account, a post from August 30, 2026, showed him describing Iran as a "failed nation," writing:

"Iran is officially a Failed Nation. IT IS DEAD! They have no Navy, they have no Air Force, they have no currency, they are not paying their soldiers or police, Inflation is at 300%..."

No Nigerian or international news outlet published any report of Trump apologising to Tinubu.

Verdict on viral Tinubu-Trump claim

Legit.ng also confirmed that the X account @OluremiTinubu that shared the post is not linked to Nigerian First Lady Senator Remi Tinubu. Her verified official account on X is @SenRemiTinubu.

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The investigation concludes that the claim is false. The image was altered to misrepresent a statement Trump made about Iran, and no credible evidence exists that he apologised to President Tinubu on any matter.

Read more on insecurity in Nigeria

Terrorists kidnap, kill 106 health workers

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that armed groups, criminal kidnappers, and terrorists abducted 91 health workers and killed 15 others across 101 separate attacks on Nigerian healthcare facilities between 2023 and 2025, according to a new international report.

The figures come from the 'Care in the Crosshairs: Violence Against Health Care in Conflict 2025' report, published by the Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition. The data was compiled using Insecurity Insight's global monitoring system and covers incidents across the three-year window.

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Ridwan Adeola Yusuf avatar

Ridwan Adeola Yusuf (Current Affairs Editor) Ridwan Adeola Yusuf is a content writer with more than nine years of experience, He is also a Current Affairs Editor at Legit.ng. He holds a Higher National Diploma in Mass Communication from the Polytechnic Ibadan, Oyo State (2014). Ridwan previously worked at Africa Check, contributing to fact-checking research works within the organisation. He is an active member of the Academic Excellence Initiative (AEI). In March 2024, Ridwan completed the full Google News Initiative Lab workshop and his effort was recognised with a Certificate of Completion. Email: ridwan.adeola@corp.legit.ng.