FACT CHECK: Video showing reopening of Idiroko border is old

A video circulating on social media claims that the Idiroko border has been recently opened.

On Monday, a 21-second video showing customs officers performing a ceremonial reopening of the Idiroko border amid jubilation went viral on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.

Many who posted the video claimed that the border was reopened after the inauguration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The border is located in Ogun state.

In 2019, Muhammadu Buhari, former president, ordered that all land borders be shut as part of efforts to curb smuggling and aid the local production of rice in Nigeria.

A social media user posted the video on Twitter with the caption: “Idiroko border now opened by @officialABAT government. What was the reason for closure? Buhari was president. What is the reason for reopening? Tinubu is president! @PeterObi will bring clarity and needed change in direction.”

Idiroko border is now open….Good Tidings right? pic.twitter.com/RiCgxlRkHW

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— OgbeniOfLagos (@OlaomiOladimej1) June 5, 2023

Tinubu has just opened border. Idiroko border is now opened. PRAISE GOD! pic.twitter.com/3AJ3Q2HGKU

— Alex Igwe (@AlexIgwe15) June 6, 2023

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Tinubu's Government : Idiroko Border opened. pic.twitter.com/UlnuugiGNJ

— Ijoyemedia.com (@ijoyemedia) June 5, 2023

VIDEO NOT RECENT, IT’S OVER A YEAR OLD

Multiple screenshots of the video were subjected to Google reverse image search, a digital tool used to discover the source of a picture and visually similar images from the internet.

Checks by TheCable revealed that the circulating footage has been on YouTube as far back as April 2022.

Also, a news report published in April 2022 showed that the border in Ogun state was reopened over a year ago.

“The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) has reopened the Idiroko land border gates, two years after it was shut to prevent smugglers from bringing foreign parboiled rice into the country as well to boost local production of rice,” the news report reads.

The border is one of the land borders shut in 2019 to curb the smuggling of rice into the country. 

On Tuesday, Bamidele Makinde, controller of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Ogun 1 area command, said during a press briefing in Abeokuta, that the border was reopened in 2022.

He added that other land borders in Ogun including Imeko, Ohumbe, Ijofin and Ijoun remained shut.

VERDICT

The viral video claiming that the Idiroko border was recently reopened is an old footage from April 2022.