Old images show children abused in Niger, not pupils abducted from schools in Nigeria
- Published on June 3, 2026 at 17:46
- 2 min read
- By Samad UTHMAN, AFP Nigeria
Following the abduction of pupils, students and teachers from multiple schools in Nigeria in May 2026, images have been shared on social media purportedly showing the kidnapped children with visible wounds on their bodies. However, the photographs have been online since 2020 and show a group of children who were beaten by their teacher in Niger.
"These are the bodies of the school children those demons kidnapped in Oyo state," reads the caption of an X post published on May 22, 2026.
"SHAME ON THIS TINUBU GOVERNMENT for this level of pain and anguish the Nigerian Citizens are passing through," it adds. "And this bandits keep releasing videos and pictures, yet we can't track them. Oh God, my heart is broken."
Shared more than 100 times, the post includes two photos showing young children with welts and lacerations on their bodies.
The post attracted sympathy and outrage from online users.
“No child deserves this treatment,” reads one of the comments, while another wrote, “This level of pain on a child, Damn I hate Nigeria (sic).”
The claim was also shared elsewhere (like here, here and here), including on Instagram by Nigerian politician Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
The post claims that the photos depict some of the children abducted by gunmen on May 15, 2026, from schools in the Oriire local government area in Oyo state (archived here).
The state's Governor Seyi Makinde later said that 32 people were kidnapped, including a teacher who was killed. But the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) claimed the total number of abducted children and teachers was 46 (archived here and here).
However, the photographs do not show children abducted recently in Nigeria.
Niger child abuse
Using Google Lens to conduct reverse image searches, AFP Fact Check found that the images were published six years ago.
The images were featured in a news report published by a Nigerien online news platform on Facebook on June 7, 2020, alongside other photographs of the children (archived here and here).
"Diffa: A marabout apprehended for abusing talibé children," reads the headline in French.
According to the French report, the children were beaten by their teacher at a Quranic school in Diffa, a region in southeastern Niger.
The photos are credited to Nigerien journalist Lawan Boukar.
Using keywords from the French article, we also found a report by Niger’s state-owned media outlet Le Sahel, detailing the incident in an interview with Elhadj Habou Issa, the Public Prosecutor of the High Court in Diffa (archived here).
Published on June 17, 2020, the interview confirmed the arrest and pre-trial detention of a local Quranic teacher (marabout) following acts of severe physical violence against his young students (talibés).
Issa stated that the suspect faced charges of “voluntary assault and battery with a weapon”.
He added that a crisis meeting with the regional governor, administrative, and religious leaders resulted in key recommendations, including organising a regional conference, launching a comprehensive census to inspect students’ living conditions, and establishing a multidisciplinary framework to oversee Quranic schools.
AFP Fact Check contacted Boukar but he has yet to respond. However, we found a Facebook account in his name where all the pictures were published on June 7, 2020 (archived here).
“Diffa: A marabout who has beaten his talibés to this point. He was intercepted moments ago by the police and talibés taken to the health centre for treatment. We will have seen everything with the arrival of refugees,” reads the caption of the post in French.
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