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| - Fact Check: No, these images ARE NOT from recent bandit attack in Nigeria that killed more than 100
India Today Fact Check found that both images are from a June 2022 attack inside a Nigerian church.
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India Today Fact Check
These images are from June 5, 2022, and show the St Francis Catholic Church in Nigeria, where about 40 people were killed in an attack by unknown gunmen.
As the world celebrated Christmas Eve, Nigeria witnessed a tragedy on December 24. Armed bandits reportedly carried out a devastating attack in the state of Plateau, resulting in the loss of more than 100 lives. Some reports even indicate that the death toll has surpassed 160.
Meanwhile, two photos likely shot inside a church and one showing a floor stained with blood are making the rounds on social media. Allegedly, these were taken after the attack in Nigeria.
"Nigeria - New photos from within a church where at Christmas Christians were massacred in the name of Allah. Around 150 are confirmed dead so far, properties & farms were looted and burned. This is on par with what Hamas did, but the MSM & dancing Western Hamas fans ignore,” claimed posts on Facebook and X. The archived version of such a post can be seen here.
India Today Fact Check found that these images are from June 2022 and are not related to the recent attack in Nigeria.
Our Probe
Upon reverse-searching keyframes from the viral video, the results led us to an Al Jazeera report from June 6, 2022, that featured the shot of the ransacked church. According to the report, gunmen with explosives stormed St Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Owo, a town in Nigeria’s Ondo State and opened fire, killing at least 50 people.
We also found an ABC News report from the same day that also contained the same photo. The photo was credited to the Associated Press photographer Rahaman A Yusuf. A subsequent search with relevant keywords took us to the stock photo website Alamy where we found both photos.
Both images were shot by Yusuf on June 5, 2022, inside the St Francis Catholic Church after gunmen opened fire and exploded detonators on a Sunday morning when worshippers gathered for weekly prayer.
Additionally, we didn't find any credible reports of an attack on a church in Nigeria recently.
Therefore, it is safe to conclude that the images linked to the recent attack in Nigeria date back to June 2022.
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