FACT CHECK: AI-generated picture used to depict release of retired army general’s c0rpse
FACT CHECK: AI-generated picture used to depict release of retired army general’s corpse
On Sunday, a picture used to depict the release of the corpse of Rabe Abubakar, the retired major-general who died in captivity, by bandits, started circulating online.
The picture collage is a combination of three similar pictures with inscriptions in Hausa and Arabic.
The first inscription in Hausa Language, “Masu garkuwa da mutane suna mika gawar Janar Rabe Abubakar ga iyalansa, tare da sakin matarsa”, translates to: “Kidnappers hand over the body of General Rabe Abubakar to his family and release his wife”.
The second inscription in Hausa Language, “Allah Yajikansa Da Rahama”, translates to: “Allah bless him with mercy”.
The third inscription in Arabic means “Indeed, we belong to Allah, and indeed, to Him we shall return.”
The picture was amplified by Dino Melaye, a former Kogi senator, and some online platforms to depict the release of Abubakar’s corpse to authorities. (archived here).
Melaye posted the picture on his X handle with the caption: “Heavily armed bandits handed over the body of General Rabe yesterday morning in Katsina and left for neighboring forest of Matazu , unchallenged ! What a country ???”
The image was also used by Ripples Nigeria and The Guardian.
BACKGROUND
In May, Abubakar, a former director of defence information, and his wife were kidnapped while travelling through Katsina when gunmen ambushed their vehicle and whisked them away.
On June 6, a video surfaced online, showing Abubakar and his wife appealing to the Katsina government to release detained bandits and their livestock to secure their freedom from captivity.
On Saturday, the Katsina state government announced that the retired general had died in captivity.
Nasiru Mu’azu, the state commissioner for internal security and home affairs, said Abubakar died from complications related to diabetes and hypertension.
Samaila Uba, director of defence information at the Defence Headquarters (DHQ), also confirmed Abubakar’s death, describing it as a “tragic loss”.
According to NAN, the burial rites of the retired major general took place at about 6:45pm on Saturday, shortly after the release of his remains by the bandits.
He was laid to rest at the Gidan Dawa Cemetery in Katsina state.
On Monday, the defence headquarters (DHQ) announced that troops of the Nigerian Army, in collaboration with the personnel of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), rescued the wife of the late Abubakar
The DHQ said “rescue operation followed intensified search-and-rescue efforts conducted by troops of Operation FASAN YAMMA.”
The DHQ and the Katsina state government did not release any picture showing when the retired general’s corpse was released.
However, following reports that Abubakar had been buried, the viral picture appeared online.
VERIFICATION
A closer look at the picture collage reveals inconsistencies that indicate it was generated by AI.
First, the muzzle of the gun held by one of the gunmen in the picture seems to have passed through the coffin.
Second, the figures in the picture appear disconnected from the scene and seem to be standing alone.
Third, the facial appearance of one of the women, supposedly the wife of the retired major-general, does not match the image of Abubakar’s wife as seen in the video released by the gunmen and the picture published by the DHQ.
When CableCheck analysed the picture on Sightengine, a platform that verifies whether multimedia content is AI-generated or not, the results show that the picture is 99 percent likely to be AI-generated.
VERDICT
The viral image used to depict the release of Abubakar’s corpse by bandits is AI-generated.
