An explosion rattled the upscale neighborhoods of Abuja in Nigeria, leaving two people injured on January 24, 2024. Shortly after the incident, a photo surfaced on social media falsely claiming to depict the recent blast. However, the image actually captured a 2014 bombing in the capital that resulted in the deaths of more than 20 people.
The misleading post, shared over 70 times, portrayed a scene of onlookers observing cars engulfed in flames and dark smoke billowing from a business complex – erroneously associated with the recent explosion in Maitama, Abuja.
Reports from local news sources confirmed that the explosion in Maitama was caused by an overheated metal refuse container, injuring two people. However, the photo circulating on social media did not capture this incident, nor was it related to the anniversary of the Ikeja disaster.
Upon conducting a reverse image search, AFP Fact Check uncovered that the photo was from the Associated Press archives, depicting a bombing at the Emab Plaza, a shopping complex in Abuja, which occurred in June 2014. The attack was suspected to have been carried out by Nigeria’s notorious Boko Haram militants and resulted in over 20 fatalities.
Nigerian police spokeswoman Josephine Adeh clarified that the Maitama explosion was indeed caused by an overheated metal refuse bin, dismissing any bomb-related speculations. This incident is just one of the many security challenges that Nigeria has been facing, including frequent kidnappings, explosions, and killings. The country’s new President, Bola Tinubu, has vowed to address these security issues, but there remain concerns that the violence is spiraling out of control.