Old Niger Photos Misrepresented as Oyo Kidnapping Evidence

A fact-check revealed that old photographs from Niger, which were circulated on social media, were inaccurately presented as images of children abducted during a school attack in Oyo State on May 15, 2026. The images, which depict children with injuries, were originally published online in June 2020 and are linked to a separate incident involving corporal punishment at a Quran school in Diffa, Niger Republic.

The Oyo State Police Command has confirmed that there are no credible links between these images and the alleged abduction of pupils in Oyo State. They described the claims as false and warned that such misinformation could cause unnecessary panic among the public.

The police emphasized that rescue operations are ongoing and that there have been no confirmed deaths among the abducted pupils. The misleading claims began to circulate following the attack on the school in the Oriir local government area.