Vice President Kashim Shettima has addressed the controversy surrounding a viral photograph showing him dining with a group of Fulani people.
Speaking at the 2025 International Press Institute Nigeria Conference and Annual General Meeting in Abuja, Shettima said the image had been misrepresented online by groups seeking to falsely associate him with bandits and Boko Haram.
He explained that the individuals in the photo were displaced Fulanis who had suffered significant hardship after Boko Haram forced them out of grazing areas in Sambisa Forest and seized their livestock, leaving many formerly wealthy herders in extreme poverty.
Shettima noted that many of these Fulanis later served as guards at schools built by the Borno State government during his tenure as governor.
He said their situation reflected the deeper socioeconomic roots of insurgency.
To address this, Shettima launched an education initiative aimed at breaking the cycle of poverty. He enrolled children of displaced herders in school and provided food, clothing, and other incentives to gain the trust of their parents.
He also created a specialised learning environment, equipping classrooms with digital teaching tools, providing regular meals, and offering transportation to encourage attendance.
Shettima said his regular visits to parents, during which he shared meals with them, produced the viral photograph now being misused to spread false narratives.
He warned that the image resurfaced amid a broader wave of social media misinformation and stressed that mainstream media did not promote the misleading claims. Shettima cautioned that unchecked falsehoods on social media pose a serious threat to Nigeria’s democratic stability.
He added that public figures are often targets of such attacks, describing it as an unavoidable aspect of leadership.
Watch the video below.