On Sunday, March 25, news broke on the internet about one Sergeant David Bako who claimed that the recent abduction of schoolgirls in Dapchi, Yobe state, was stage-managed by the Nigerian government.
Bako claimed that the plot was planned and rehearsed for two weeks by President Buhari's loyalists in the army of which he claimed to be one.
Bako had claimed in an online publication that the Dapchi school girls’ abduction was planned in the villa and executed with N80 million.
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However, following Bako’s claim which has gone viral on social media, the Nigerian Army said it has no knowledge of any personnel called Sergeant David Bako.
Texas Chukwu, the director of Army public relations, in a statement, said after cross-checking its record, the army could not find any “one call Sgt. David Bako, who neither serves in the army, deserted or dismissed.”
In addition, the Nigerian government supported that army’s claim.
The minister of information and culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, while reacting to the report, described it as unfounded and social media lies.
“I can tell you categorically that this David Bako is fake. There is no such soldier in the Nigerian Army. There was no conspiracy anywhere. The intention of those behind the disinformation and fake news is to cause disaffection between Christians and Muslims, and between Southerners and Northerners,” Mohammed said.
Is Sergeant David Bako a real Nigerian soldier? Or is he a ‘fake’ soldier as claimed by the Nigerian Army and corroborated by the information minister?
NAIJ.com fact checks the picture of the acclaimed Sergeant David Bako as used in the report to verify whether or not there is or was a soldier called Sergeant David Bako in the Nigerian Army.
A simple Google search on the picture brings this message: “Best guess for this image: senegal soldier”.
Next, NAIJ.com conducted a reverse image search using TinEye web technology.
This traced the image to an article on a Senegalese website: www.armyrecognition.com.
The image was featured in a 2009 post headlined ‘Senegal Senegalese Army ranks land ground forces combat field uniforms military equipment grades’ on the website.
Another website that featured the same image is alchetron.com in an article titled ‘Armed Forces of Senegal’.
Checking for the original source of the image on alchetron.com also redirects to armyrecognition.com.
A simple Google search on the picture brings this message: “Best guess for this image: senegal soldier”.
Conclusion
The image used for the said 'Sergeant David Bako', considering the searches conducted, is that of a Senegalese soldier.
It could not, however, be established whether or not the Senegalese soldier’s name is David Bako. Neither was it established whether or not one David Bako served in the Nigerian Army.
However, using the image of a Senegalese soldier for a sensitive story of such magnitude which has to do with the Nigerian Army puts the credibility of the claims made in the 'Sergeant Bako' report in serious question.
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Source: Naija.ng