Video of 2023 protest following singer's death misrepresented as 2026 anti-government demonstrations

“SEE THE MASSIVE TURNOUT OF PEOPLE FOR PROTEST AGAINST TINUBU IN ABEOKUTA! Tinubu is losing South West just like every other region,” reads the caption of a Facebook post published on June 3, 2026.

Abeokuta is the capital city of Nigeria’s southwestern Ogun state. 

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Screenshot showing the false Facebook post, taken on June 5, 2026

The post included a 12-second video showing a large crowd marching down a street, many of them wearing black T-shirts and carrying placards.

The same clip was shared on TikTok with a different claim on June 1.

“OGUN ERUPTS IN PROTEST AS NIGERIANS DEMAND ACTION OVER ABDUCTED SCHOOL CHILDREN,” reads part of the post.

“The streets of Ogun State are filled with angry voices as citizens rise to demand urgent action over the abducted school children and the growing insecur!ty across Nigeria. Enough is enough. How many more innocent lives must suffer before real action is taken? (sic).”

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Screenshot showing the false Tiktok post, taken June 16, 2026

Nigeria is heading into another election cycle, with Tinubu seeking re-election (archived here). 

Scheduled for January 2027, the election looms amid public discontent over economic reforms, including the removal of fuel subsidies, that have marked Tinubu's first term (archived here and here). 

Adding to the pressure, scores of schoolchildren and teachers were abducted from a school in the Oriire local government area in Oyo state on May 15, 2026 -- the first mass school abduction reported in southern Nigeria (archived here). 

However, the video of people marching down a road is unrelated to these events. 

2023 protest 

The most recent protests against Tinubu took place on June 12, 2026, during Nigeria's Democracy Day celebrations, fuelled in part by the school abductions.

According to local reports, demonstrators took to the streets in Lagos, Rivers, Delta and Abuja, but not in Ogun state (archived here, here, here and here). 

The demonstrations followed earlier nationwide protests over the kidnappings (archived here).

However, reverse image searches on keyframes from the clip established that the same footage had been published by local media outlet The Nation Newspaper on September 19, 2023 (archived here). 

“#JusticeforMohBad protest hits Abeokuta,” the post reads.

The same footage was also embedded in a report by the publisher with the same headline (archived here). 

A comparison of the two videos shows several matching features, including a white security van and a man recording the protesters on a phone.

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Screenshots comparing the false Facebook post (left) and the original published by the Nation Newspaper, taken on June 15, 2026

Using clues from the video, AFP Fact Check geolocated the footage to the Panseke market area, a suburb of Abeokuta. 

Matching features in the video and on Google Street View include distinctive light poles, an iron fence dividing the double-lane roads, a cell tower, and, more significantly, the sky-blue signage seen at the seven-second mark. Zooming out of the keyframe reveals it advertises Union Bank with its white stallion logo.

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Comparison between a screengrab from the video (left) and Google Street View, taken on June 17, 2026

Mohbad’s death

Nigerian afrobeats singer Mohbad died on September 12, 2023, under circumstances that triggered nationwide protests and calls for accountability following allegations that he had been subjected to bullying and harassment by his former record label boss (archived here, here and here)  

Following public outrage over his burial, police exhumed Mohbad's body on September 21, 2023, for an autopsy. Investigators later identified an auxiliary nurse as a key suspect after she allegedly administered injections that may have triggered a fatal reaction.

However, the autopsy was inconclusive because of the condition of the remains (archived here and here).

Nearly three years later, his body remains in a mortuary amid family disputes, while a Federal High Court in Abuja is considering a fresh suit seeking a full reopening of the investigation into his death (archived here and here).