FACT CHECK: Video of Nigerian military training misrepresented as armed clash in BARMM

The viral posts use cropped footage from a Nigerian army training program, falsely claiming it shows a September 19 clash between Philippine government troops and armed men

AT A GLANCE

• A video claiming to show a clash between the Philippine military and armed men in BARMM is misleading and was rated FALSE.
• The original footage is from a Nigerian military exercise and was edited to falsely represent events in the Philippines.
• While a clash did occur in Tugunan town, the details in the viral videos contradict official reports, and no official footage of the incident has been released.

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Claim: A video shows a clash between the Philippine military and armed men that happened in the Special Geographic Area (SGA) of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). 

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: Multiple posts from Facebook pages called “Barako Transceiver,” “Morzid Vlog,” “Grand Media BangsaMoro,” and “Pacman Radio News & information” claimed that a video shows the clash that happened on September 19, 2026 in BARMM. 

The Facebook reels have garnered between 5,000 views and 640,000 views, with reactions reaching up to 11,900 as of writing. The videos show a tank with several soldiers opening fire, as well as a casualty being carried out of the area. 

Some posts described the footage as a “cross fight” between Philippine soldiers and armed men that occurred in Barangay Balong, Tugunan town. At least one other post claimed the clash happened in Barangay Manaulanan, another barangay in Tugunan town. 

The facts: The original video was posted in August 2026 by MoScope, which describes itself as an online news platform and primarily posts content on Nigerian military operations. The video is titled “Exercise Restore Hope 10,” referring to a six-month advanced infantry and special forces training program conducted by the Nigerian Army. The program’s graduation ceremony was held on August 7, 2026.

The viral posts use a cropped version of this video. The logo of MoScope and the headline were edited out, and text falsely labelling the footage as supposedly showing the clash in the Bangsamoro region was added over the clips.

BARMM armed encounter: While a clash did occur between Philippine government troops and armed men in Tugunan town, no official footage of the incident has been released by authorities.

On September 19, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Philippine National Police (PNP) launched a joint law enforcement operation to serve a warrant of arrest on a wanted man facing carnapping and homicide charges. According to media reports, the target and his companions allegedly opened fire on government forces, triggering an exchange of gunfire.

According to reports, the operation killed seven armed group members and forced about 350 residents to evacuate. Authorities also recovered five high-powered firearms from the area.

BARMM parliamentary elections: The misleading videos started circulating several days after the conclusion of the first-ever BARMM parliamentary elections. The September 14 election was a long-awaited milestone in the region’s transition from the 2014 peace agreement between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to a functioning parliamentary system. 

Security forces were placed on heightened alert during the elections, with nearly 9,000 PNP officers and five AFP joint task forces deployed across BARMM. The elections took place amid concerns over possible violence, with voters expressing fear about their safety and reports of early-morning violence in parts of the region.

Debunked: Rappler has previously fact-checked misleading claims involving photos and reports about the BARMM elections:

• FACT CHECK: No Turkish police deployed to secure BARMM polls
• FACT CHECK: News of 39 soldiers held by MILF is from 2023, not recent
• FACT CHECK: Photos of Sara Duterte visiting MILF camp ahead of 2026 polls are fake

– Jade Florido/Rappler.com

Jade Florido is a volunteer for Rappler’s Research and Data unit. She is a third-year Development Studies student at the University of the Philippines – Manila.

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