Fake news promotes insecurity. It causes fear, perplexity, and tension. It undermines the defense system and increases enemy power. It is an adversary of concentration and despises proper planning. Many netizens are unaware that they are enabling insecurity by creating or sharing fraudulent or misleading content.
When you share on social media a video, text, or image of a gang of terrorists in another country demonstrating their limited strengths or methods, you enable insecurity. When you upload a video showing terrorists shooting or slaughtering soldiers in another country to undermine your country’s military operations, you contribute to insecurity.
When you publish a video of people kidnapped by terrorists in another nation and portray it as if it happened on your own to mock your government, you are inciting insecurity. Fake news peddlers are not simply conspirators or terrorists seeking to kill or destroy for a specific reason, nor are they limited to those armed with rifles or bazookas.
They don’t just wear white agbadas. They can be found in any socioeconomic position, age group, religion, or ethnicity. They show no respect for size or scope. Initially, only members of a terrorist group created fake content to advance their objective. They spread fake news to distract, agitate, and disorient people.
Residents are even creating fake content to terrify others. They settle down in their comfort zones, record audio or text, and share it on social media pages. Some do it for clicks and attention. Some people seek to build a naive or ‘stupid’ audience. Some people do it for fun.
When terrorists attack and murder people, they scream lavishly and criticize or denounce the military and the government, but they never critique or condemn themselves. If you listen to, watch, or read their complaints, you’d assume they care about victims of terrorist acts. They don’t. They merely want to make fresh content for fun, as always.
There are peddlers of fake news everywhere. They are not phantoms or spirits. They are folks we know by blood or location. A person that spreads phony news may be a friend, brother, sister, partner, uncle, aunt, or parent. The growing number of fake news distributors is serious and disturbing.
These people have made their way into Iloko-Ijesa, the kingdom of Oba Olusayo Akeem Ogungbangbe, a public relations expert and business entrepreneur. They sat and spun a web of deception to instill anxiety and tension. Who distributes bogus news in the area of a communication professional who interacts with his people directly? They want to show the lion how to hunt. Both eventually ended up in the lion’s adventurous mouth.
On Saturday, November 22nd, 2025, a story appeared and spread widely over WhatsApp groups. According to the author, several Fulani herdsmen armed with firearms raided the Iloko-Ijesa kingdom. The writer who claimed to have seen these bandits stated that they were wandering aimlessly around the realm.
This story came to light at a time when Nigeria was seeing a surge in abductions. Oba Ogungbangbe did not rush to judgment when this story broke. He did not have to wait for a governor to safeguard his people. He abandoned the messenger to retrieve the message. He was more concerned with protecting his people than with finding an author to punish for provoking anxiety or stress. He understood what the author did was bad, but he concentrated on the bigger picture and ended up using a stone to kill two birds.
He summoned an elaborate strategic meeting that involved the police, NSCDC, local hunters, youths, and chiefs the following day. The king, alongside security operatives and youths of the town, stormed spots the writer mentioned in his story. They ransacked the entire area and discovered that there were no Fulani herdsmen with rifles or dangerous weapons. Only two herdsmen whose cattle got sick needed drugs from Ajase and trekked past the town.
Oba Ogungbangbe did not spend any time. The kingdom’s owner would not want to see it abandoned. He returned to his palace immediately and convened a large assembly. He described the entire situation for his audience and told them that he personally researched the writer’s claim, which he discovered to be incorrect, false, and deceptive.
He urged his people, particularly farmers and women, to resume their normal routines. He advised them not to spread bogus news. They trusted his words because he took on the responsibility of security rather than delegating it. And false news sellers who felt they had won the war finally lost it.
The Owaloko of the Iloko-Ijesa Kingdom, Alayeluwa Oba Akeem Olusayo Ogungbangbe, has taught us two things. One is that security is everyone’s responsibility, and everyone must actively participate. Two, traditional rulers have an important role to play in combating insecurity and fake news. He didn’t mince words when telling the story. He did not sit in his palace to either dispute or support the story. He toured the devastated areas and returned to his people to report on his investigation. A good leader only directs but a great leader runs errands for his people.
Domestic information and local assistance can effectively combat insecurity. Quick and deliberate steps can help to relieve tension. This is Owaloko’s tale and style. It is time for traditional rulers to accept full responsibility for their people’s safety. Traditional rulers must build working partnerships with security agencies. They must help the police, army, or DSS, as well as local hunters, establish or strengthen their relationship.
As Nigeria battles insecurity, we hope traditional rulers will learn from Alayeluwa Oba Ogungbangbe, the paramount ruler of Iloko-Ijesa kingdom, how to assist the country in combating terrorism, banditry, and fake news. Domestic information, local support, and military techniques are all useful in combating terrorism. We must adopt the Owaloko’s style.
Advertisement
