Video of Trump threatening Nigeria over secessionist leader’s detention is digitally altered

On November 15, 2024, an account on X shared a video with a caption that reads: “U.S President Donald Trump gives Nigeria government till 31st November 2024 to immediately release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu or face the consequences!”

The clip has been reposted almost 900 times and was published by an account that shares Biafra-related content with its 1,000 followers.

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Screenshot of the altered X post, taken on November 27, 2024

The video opens with a woman speaking into the camera and repeating the claim made in the caption.

When she finishes speaking, the footage switches to Trump delivering an address.

“I am calling on the Nigerian government to immediately release Mr Nnamdi Kanu who has been detained under circumstances that raise questions on fairness, human rights and basic justice. Nnamdi Kanu’s detention has gone on for far too long and it is time for the Nigerian government to respect the principles of freedom and the rule of law,” Trump appears to say.

“Let me be very clear, if Mr Kanu is not released by November 31st, 2024, my administration will begin the process of withdrawing medical, financial and humanitarian aid that we provide to Nigeria.”

In 2022, total aid from the US to Nigeria amounted to almost $1.2 billion (archived here).

Kanu is leading a secessionist campaign for the creation of the Biafra Republic. He was arrested in Kenya for alleged treason and extradited to Nigeria on June 27, 2021 (archived here).

He is now seeking an out-of-court settlement with the Nigerian government to end the legal process against him (archived here).

The video has also been shared on TikTok and Facebook.

However, there are clear inconsistencies in the video that show it has been altered.

Altered video

Noticeably, the words spoken do not visibly match the movement of Donald Trump’s lips — a sign of digital tampering. The audio also continues even though Trump stops speaking at the 49-second mark in the video.

Using the InVid We-Verify tool, we extracted keyframes from the X video and conducted a reverse image search.

This led to the original footage, published on YouTube by American broadcaster Fox News on November 6, 2024 (archived here).

Both the altered clip and the Fox News video show Trump wearing the same red tie and a US flag pin on the left lapel of his jacket.

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Comparison screenshots of the X video (left) and the Fox News video

In the video, Trump delivers a speech after he was projected to win the 2024 US election.

There was no mention of Nigeria or Nnamdi Kanu in the 30-minute-long video.

Attempts to verify if the audio extracted from the video was generated using artificial intelligence were inconclusive.

However, the same footage was used in another false claim about Trump imposing a visa ban on Nigerians. AFP Fact Check debunked the claim earlier this month.

Pro-Biafra activists have repeatedly shared false claims that foreign governments have endorsed the secession of a Biafran nation from Nigeria.

You can read our debunks on the topic here and here.

Trump’s inauguration will be held on January 20, 2025 (archived here).