Footage shows tax bill protest in Kenya, not anti-hunger protest in Nigeria

Published on August 7, 2024 at 16:04
4 min read
By Samad UTHMAN, AFP Nigeria

Faced with soaring prices and economic crisis, Nigerians have taken to the streets to protest against government policies. Disinformation about the demonstrations has spread online, with one post claiming a video shows masses marching through the street of a north-central Nigerian state. But the claim is false; the video was shot in Kenya during recent anti-tax protests in the country.

The video was posted on Instagram on August 1, 2024, by former presidential candidate Dele Momodu. It has received more than 6,700 likes.

Screenshot showing the false claim, taken August 6, 2024

Momodu is a media publisher and a two-time presidential contender, first in 2011 under the National Conscience Party (NCP) and then in 2022 under the People's Democratic Party (PDP) (archived here and here).

In the 17-second clip, a large crowd marches down a road between buildings. Some of the people are holding placards.

The caption on the video reads: “Nigeria today, Niger state, No going back”. Niger is a state in the country’s north-central region.

Most of the commenters appeared to believe the claim. One commenter says: “Thank you guys for coming out in your large numbers.” Another wrote: “This is wild”.

The date on Momodu’s post matches the start of a 10-day demonstration by Nigerians against the high cost of living in the country.

Dubbed #EndbadGovernanceinNigeria, the protest movement has won widespread support with an online campaign that called for the government to reduce fuel prices and tackle the cost-of-living crisis, among other demands.

The same claim was shared on YouTube here.

Protest in Nigeria

Africa's most populous country is struggling with soaring inflation and a sharply devalued naira currency after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu introduced reforms a year ago that aimed to revive the economy.

Thousands of demonstrators began taking to the streets at the beginning of August to protest government policies and the high cost of living which has deepened hunger among the population.

However, while the protest was slated to be held from August 1-10, it started recording low turnout from the third day following police attacks on protesters. Rights group Amnesty International has accused security forces of killing at least 13 protesters, while police say seven people died and denied being responsible (archived here).

The country's police force said it had arrested nearly 700 people in the first two days of demonstrations, accusing them of “armed robbery, arson, mischief” and destroying property.

On August 4, 2024, Tinubu addressed the country to defend his administration’s performance and to call for an end to the protests (archived here).

However, the clip in Momodu’s post does not show a protest in Niger state.

Clip from Kenya

Using the InVID-WeVerify tool, we extracted keyframes from the clip and conducted reverse image searches.

One of the results led to a TikTok post published on June 20, 2024 -- meaning the footage was online before the start of the protests in Nigeria.

The caption reads “Nakuru well represented” while the post contains hashtags like #rejectfinancebill2024, #Nakuru and #Kenya.

@dannyigiza
Nakuru well represented #rejectfainancebill2024 #Nakuru #kenya
♬ original sound - Dannyigiza

These details point to the likelihood that the footage shows one of many rallies held in Kenya objecting to the implementation of new and higher taxes.

The demonstrations in Kenya initially began on June 18 in response to the Finance Bill 2024, but have since morphed into a broader expression of dissatisfaction with President William Ruto’s government, even after he withdrew the proposed tax-hike legislation (archived here).

On the date the original TikTok video was posted, local news publisher NTV reported how residents took to the streets in Nakuru to demonstrate against the bill.

Screenshot of the NTV story, taken August 6, 2024

AFP Fact Check identified landmarks in the video, including a big banner with “Nakuru” on the top, and the name of a shop at street level called “Rocky”.

Screenshot showing the banner and the shop in the video, taken August 6, 2024

Combining the keywords “Rocky” and “Nakuru” on Google Maps, we were able to pinpoint the location in the TikTok post to Mburu Gichua Road in Nakuru city.

Meanwhile, on the same day Momodu made the claim, Nigerian media reported that thugs hijacked a peaceful demonstration, leading to the death of two people after police shot seven in Suleja town in Niger state — 52 kilometres from the nation’s capital (archived here).

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