Twitter users claim Nigerian soldiers overran Boko Haram insurgents in Marte, proceeding to hang the Nigerian flag in the stronghold; The claim is captured by two Twitter users, garnering a total of over six thousand likes and a thousand five hundred retweets; The claim is MISLEADING; Although the Nigerian military regained Marte successfully, there is no evidence to show that the picture was taken on the 16th of January; Instead, Dataphyte’s findings suggest that the image was first posted on 28th of May 2020 when the military regained Mudu, a Borno village.
Background
The Nigerian security outlook has been appalling for some time now. So much so that some have criticised law enforcement’s public relations to be more effective than the policing. Besides the questionable parading of suspects, the many Press Releases and photo ops on social media following successful military or police operations speak to this. Nonetheless, for others, staying apprised with Nigeria’s law enforcement’s victories is the way to go.
In this instance, two Twitter users took to the platform to praise the Nigerian Army on their success over Boko Haram insurgents in Marte stronghold. The pictures show what appears to be a soldier attempting to hang a flag. The captions further suggest this was the final act in the Military’s successful operation in regaining Marte base camp.
Bulama Bukarti, a famous Twitter influencer on security issues and a Tony Blair Institute analyst, also quoted Idris4Peace’s post, commending Nigeria’s military.
Both tweets emerged on January 17, garnering thousands of likes and retweets. But did Boko Haram fall to the Nigerian Army as depicted in the pictures?
Verification
Reports from credible sources attest to an attack by the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) on a military base in Marte, Borno State, on January 15th. The aftermath saw insurgents’ overrunning Nigerian soldiers in the camp.
However, 24 hours later, military reinforcements in a counter-attack reclaimed the base at Marte.
New Marte’s military base is located in the abandoned Lake Chad basin quarters and close to the generators used for powering Marte canals.
In celebration of this feat, many Nigerian netizens trooped online with different posts. Two of them were from the above-quoted posters
Textbook case misleading image
While the premise is accurate, checks by Dataphyte revealed that the picture is not. In particular, a Google reverse image search pegs the JPEG to a May 28th 2020 post on the official Facebook page of the Nigeran Army headquarters. Its headline read: “TERROR WAR: REMARKABLE VICTORY FOR NIGERIAN MILITARY AS TROOPS CONTINUE TO DISLODGE TERRORISTS CAMPS IN THE NORTHEAST.”
The post outlines a military operation on May 23rd, 2020, dubbed “KANTANA JIMLAN”. It involved troops of Army Super Camp 11 identifying a Boko Haram settlement – Mudu village; also rescuing 241 kidnapped victims – 105 women and 136 children. The courageous troops equally destroyed the village and other surrounding terrorists’ camps.
Attached to the post was the original version of the misrepresented picture by @Idris4Peace and Zaharaddeen, with the inscription: “Gallant Troops of the Nigeria Army removing a hoisted BHT flag.
Once again, while the Nigerian Army did reclaim their base at Marte, the image in circulation is different. To that effect, the post is MISLEADING.