Claim: Viral post claims a man named Kebba Jatta was arrested at the Banjul International Airport while attempting to hide behind the aircraft tyres before take off
Verdict: False
Full Text
The claim that a man named Kebba Jarra was arrested at the Banjul International at a stowaway by security while attempting to hide behind an aircraft’s tyres before take off is false. The incident didn’t occur in The Gambia, evidence shows.
A viral social media post alleges that airport securities at Banjul International Airport wrestled down a man identified as Kebba Jatta, who was attempting to hide behind the tyres of an aircraft preparing for takeoff.
The claim links the incident to dangerous illegal migration attempts and frames it as a reflection of a growing national crisis in The Gambia.
The dramatic video widely shared online showing airport security personnel forcibly removing a man clinging to the undercarriage of an aircraft has generated missed reactions on social media.
Different Gambian pages and commentators have reshared the clip, asserting that the event took place at Banjul International Airport and involved a Gambian national attempting a desperate stowaway journey to Europe.
The post also uses the video to question national leadership, socioeconomic conditions, and the motivations behind irregular migration.
However, new verified information shows that the viral claim is based on a misattributed location and identity, making the narrative misleading.
The viral post narrates that a man named Kebba Jatta was apprehended by airport security at Banjul International Airport while attempting to hide behind aircraft tyres of a plane about to take off. It goes on to suggest that Gambian youths are resorting to increasingly dangerous methods to reach Europe due to national hardship, and urges the government to ask itself difficult questions about the causes of irregular migration. The text frames the incident as a Gambian national crisis requiring immediate government attention. The post attributes the footage to Concern TV.
Verification
Independent verification shows that the incident portrayed in the viral video did happen, but not in The Gambia. Multiple Nigerian news outlets, including The NigerianLawyer and other verified publications, have confirmed that the event occurred at General Tunde Idiagbon International Airport in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. The man apprehended has been formally identified as Segun Martins, not “Kebba Jatta,” and he was attempting to stow away on an aircraft owned by Overland Airways, which was scheduled to fly from Ilorin to Lagos, not Europe.
Reports reveal that Segun Martins believed the plane was bound for the United States, prompting him to hide within the aircraft’s tyre area in a dangerous bid to flee the country.
Airport security personnel intercepted him and handed him over to authorities for questioning.
A video obtained by InfoChecked further confirms that the footage circulating online is the same clip captured in Nigeria, not Banjul.
There is currently no report, statement, or evidence from Gambian airport authorities or credible Gambian media confirming any such event at Banjul International Airport.
Conclusion
While the video of a man attempting to stow away on an aircraft is real, the claim that it happened in The Gambia is false.
The incident took place in Nigeria, involving a Nigerian citizen, and had no connection to Gambian migration.
The misattribution of the location and identity makes the viral claim misleading and false, and the narrative built around Gambian youth and government responsibility is based on an incorrect foundation.
It is essential to verify such sensitive claims before drawing conclusions, especially when they relate to national issues such as migration and security.
By Ebrima Mbye