A viral post circulating on X by user @iOccupyNigeria claims that United States President Donald Trump criticised Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu over insecurity.
The post, last edited at 10:14 p.m. on March 16, 2026, had already generated 273,900 views, 484 comments, 2,500 likes and 687 bookmarks at the time of review.
The claim is based on a screenshot showing a purported statement attributed to Trump, alleging coordinated attacks in Maiduguri and criticising Tinubu’s response, including his reported visit to the United Kingdom.
Findings
While there have been security concerns in Borno State and reports of official engagements abroad by President Tinubu, there is no evidence that Trump made the statement attributed to him.
A review of Trump’s official account on Truth Social shows no record of the post.
Notably, the viral screenshot ends with “TRUTH!”, a signature style associated
with Truth Social. However, the interface displayed in the image resembles X (formerly Twitter), not Truth Social. This inconsistency raises strong doubts about the authenticity of the post.
Further checks show that no credible international or Nigerian media organisations have reported such a statement. Given Trump’s global profile, any comment of that nature on Nigeria would likely attract widespread media coverage.
The language used in the post, phrases such as “TOTAL DISASTER” and “NO LEADERSHIP”, is also highly emotive and consistent with patterns seen in viral misinformation designed to provoke reactions rather than convey verified statements.
Verdict: False
There is no credible evidence that Donald Trump made the statement circulating online. Key inconsistencies in the screenshot and the absence of corroboration from official sources and reputable media indicate that the claim is false.
Image A shows the authentic Truth Social handle, while Image B contains the purported statement.
A comparison of the two images indicates that the fabricated statement lacks the unique Truth Social identifier (a darkened “+”).
