By Srijit Das
Two photographs are now circulating online with a misleading claim that they show a recent Islamist attack on Christians at a Nigerian church on Christmas Eve.
BOOM found that the photos are unrelated to the recent massacre which happened in Nigeria. The widely circulated images are from June, 2022 and originally depict a violence carried out by gunmen at a Catholic church in Nigeria's Owo city.
The international news agency Reuters has reported that a prolonged violence took place in Nigeria's central Plateau state, where suspected nomadic herders rampaged through 15 villages on December 24, 2023. The article stated that the attackers used guns and machetes, resulting in the tragic death of at least 140 people. According to the report, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu labeled the attack as "primitive and cruel" and instructed security officials to apprehend those accountable for the assault.
The pictures are being shared with a caption, "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".
Click here to view the post.
BOOM also received the photos accompanied by a similar message on our WhatsApp tipline number (7700906588), along with a request for verification.
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Fact Check
BOOM performed reverse image search on both the pictures and found a news article from June 6, 2022, published by The Associated Press.
The article featured both the images reporting about an assault by some gunmen at a Catholic church in southwestern Nigeria on June 5, 2022.
First Photo
The photo was uploaded with a caption, "A view of the St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo Nigeria, Sunday, June 5, 2022. Lawmakers in southwestern Nigeria say more than 50 people are feared dead after gunmen opened fire and detonated explosives at a church. Ogunmolasuyi Oluwole with the Ondo State House of Assembly said the gunmen targeted the St Francis Catholic Church in Ondo state on Sunday morning just as the worshippers gathered for the weekly Mass."
Second Photo
An excerpt from the description with the picture states, "Blood stains the pavement of St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo Nigeria, Sunday, June 5, 2022."
The credit for both the pictures have been given to photographer Rahaman A Yusuf on behalf of The Associated Press.
We also found several news reports by other international outlets reporting about the violence.
On August 9, 2022, the international news agency Reuters reported that Nigerian authorities had apprehended five suspects for their alleged involvement in the terror attack.
The report states, "Nigerian authorities have said they suspect insurgent group Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) carried out the massacre of members of a congregation inside the St Francis Catholic Church in Ondo state on June 5. ISWAP is waging an insurgency in the northeast but claims that it carried out the attack far away from its enclave have raised concern that the group is expanding its footprint in Nigeria."
On April 9, 2023, The Cable, a news outlet based in Nigeria, published a report stating that the St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, reopened on Easter Sunday for worshippers, following the deadly attack in June 2022.
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