The Nigeria Police Force has moved to dispel widespread concern regarding a viral video circulating on social media, which depicts a school-aged girl smoking what appears to be cannabis while being cheered on by classmates.

The Force says contrary to popular captions suggesting the incident occurred in Nigeria, preliminary investigations indicate the video likely originated from Zimbabwe.

Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, in a statement said the video has caused significant anxiety among Nigerian parents and the broader community due to its alarming content and the erroneous attribution.

Adejobi noted that a thorough initial inquiry into the video’s origin strongly points away from Nigeria, highlighting several key pieces of evidence supporting the conclusion.

According to him, primarily, individuals within the video are heard speaking both English and Shona, a language predominantly spoken in Zimbabwe and parts of southern Africa.

In his statement, Adejobi said crucially, no Nigerian languages or discernable Nigerian accents are present in the audio track.

He sated that further investigation revealed that the original upload of the video was accompanied by a caption written in Shona, saying its initial posting was traced to the Instagram channel @rusape_celebs_tv, a platform demonstrably based in the town of Rusape, Zimbabwe.

Adejobi urged the public to exercise extreme caution when sharing unverified information, especially sensitive content that has the potential to negatively impact individuals, organisations, and entire communities.

He said the Force strongly encourages responsible information sharing and thorough verification of sources before amplifying potentially harmful or misleading claims.