Nigeria: No, Video Does Not Show Protesters Burning Down Nyanya Police Station in Nigeria’s Capital Abuja

IN SHORT: A video has been posted on social media with the claim that protesters burned down the Nyanya police station on the outskirts of Abuja. But the police denied the claim.

Several social media posts from early August 2024 claim that protesters have burned down the Nyanya police station on the outskirts of the Nigerian capital, Abuja.

As evidence, the posts include a video of a group of people smashing and burning things in the street.

One X (formerly Twitter) post reads: “Peaceful and organised #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protesters has burnt down Nyanya police station.”

Nigeria has been rocked by protests since 1 August. The demonstrations, labelled “10 says of rage”, are expected to continue until 10 August and have been tagged #EndBadGovernance and #EndBadGovernanceProtests.

Nigerians are protesting against economic hardship and the rising cost of living. In 2023, president Bola Tinubu announced the removal of the fuel subsidy, leading to higher fuel and food prices.

At least 13 deaths have been reported across the country since the protests began. There have also been reports of violence and vandalism in some states.

The claim can also be found on Facebook here, here and here. (Note: See more instances listed at the end of the report.)

But did the protesters burn down the Nyanya divisional police station? We checked.

Police refute the claim

Hours after the claims began circulating, the Federal Capital Territory police command released a statement with the headline: “Protest in FCT: Nyanya division not burnt down.”

The statement reads: “Contrary to the news making rounds about Nyanya division being burnt down by violent protesters, the FCT police command wishes to state that it wasn’t the police division that was burnt but rather the police container compartment at Nyanya checkpoint that was set ablaze and the attempt to vandalize the Tipper garage Police post by four (4) suspects who have been arrested.

“The commissioner of police FCT, CP Benneth C. Igweh, psc, meanwhile acknowledging the right of residents to protest, frowns at destruction of public or police infrastructure, as any violent protester arrested for destroying public property will be caused to face the wrath of the law.”

The police station is two kilometres away

Africa Check’s findings corroborate the police’s statement. The location in the video is around the checkpoint bus stop near the Nyanya police station. The bus stop is near the boundary between Abuja and Nasarawa state.

Using Google Maps, we found that the Nyanya police station is about two kilometres from the checkpoint.

The claim that protesters burned down the Nyanya police station is false.

The same claim was also posted here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.