By Pascal Oparada
Joe Igbokwe, the All Progressives Congress (APC) publicity secretary for Lagos State, shared three photos on November 26, 2018. He claimed that they depict a Nigerian military offensive against Boko Haram. The photos are out of context and there is no evidence supporting the claim.
A fact-check by a coalition of Nigerian journalists, including AFP, ICIR, TheNiche and 17 others under the aegis of CrossCheck Nigeria, a platform set up to combat misinformation and fake news online, have reviewed the claim and discovered it to be a hoax.
The first image was published on November 8, 2004, and shows the United States Navy airstrike on Fallujah, Iraq, led by the Marines.
The second photo has been online since at least December 4, 2015, on the online forum Nairaland. The user who posted the photo says it shows the Nigerian Army conducting an offensive against Boko Haram in Sambisa Forest, but we found no evidence sustaining the claim.
Finally, the third photograph is the image of the Russian jet Sukhoi Su-25, used to illustrate airstrikes of different natures in various locations. The first occurrence found is in a Bulgarian blog, dated 11/08/12 23:22. It was used to illustrate information about an alleged airstrike in the Persian Gulf.
