The Gombe State Police Command has dismissed social media reports suggesting that youths in the state were preparing to take up arms against insurgents.
The claim emerged after a video showing hunters firing gunshots during a public event circulated online. Many users wrongly linked the footage to a security mobilisation effort.
A caption attached to the video read: “Gombe is ready to protect itself. Nigerians are ready to face the monster and that’s the bravest way to eliminate it. Fish out all the collaborators within, then face the dragon and slay it. If you have to dig out the gods of your forefathers, do it. The fact is the state police is no longer a debate, it’s a must!”
Speaking on the development, Police spokesperson Abdullahi Buhari clarified that the footage was unrelated to any fight against insurgency. He explained that the event was part of a cultural tradition observed during Sallah celebrations in the state.
“That was a video done by hunters in celebration of the Islamic celebration. It’s usually done to celebrate either Eid-el-Kabir or Eid-el-Fitr in the state. They did that to usher in the Emir of Gombe. If you noticed, the environment is around the kofa (premises) of the king,” Buhari said.
The police spokesman accused those sharing the misleading description of distorting the true context of the video and urged the public to be cautious when consuming information online.
“I have seen that video. It’s a description of the event in the video. They wrote something entirely different from what was happening in the video. I guess it was written to get traffic and confuse the public. If you listened to what was said, the description was wrong,” he added.
He also warned against the spread of unverified information, noting that such content could mislead residents and create unnecessary tension.
