The Police headquarters in Abuja has clarified that a viral video trending in social media showing school girls smoking Indian hemp (Cannabis), purporting to be from Nigeria and causing anxiety among parents, is not from Nigeria but Zimbabwe.
Force Public Relations Officer ACP Muyiwa Adejobi made this known on Thursday even as he cautioned the public to exercise restraint over the dissemination of unverified information.
He said, “The attention of the Nigeria Police Force has been drawn to a deeply concerning video currently circulating on WhatsApp and other social media platforms, depicting a school-aged girl smoking what appears to be cannabis, surrounded and cheered on by her classmates.
“The video has been widely shared with captions suggesting the incident occurred within a Nigerian school, prompting significant concern and anxiety amongst Nigerian parents and the wider community.
“However, a preliminary investigation into its origin strongly suggests that the video did not originate in Nigeria, with multiple indicators pointing towards the video’s likely origin being in Zimbabwe.
“The evidence supporting this conclusion includes the language spoken within the video.
“Individuals featured are heard speaking in both English and Shona, the latter being a language predominantly spoken in Zimbabwe and parts of southern Africa.
“Critically, no Nigerian languages or discernable Nigerian accents are present in the audio.
“Furthermore, the original upload of the video was accompanied by a caption written in Shona, with its initial posting on the Instagram channel @rusape_celebs_tv, a channel which is demonstrably based in the town of Rusape, Zimbabwe.
We urge the public to exercise caution when “sharing unverified information, particularly when it involves sensitive content and carries the potential to impact individuals, organizations, and entire communities negatively.
“The Force strongly encourages responsible sharing of information and thorough verification of sources before amplifying potentially harmful claims.”
