Claim: X user MEHMET VEFA DAG (@AFRICANDEMOC) in a viral post claims that a military coup has taken place in Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire), resulting in the capture of President Alassane Ouattara.
Verdict: False! The viral video used to back the claim is from 2011 and depicts the arrest of former President Laurent Gbagbo, not Alassane Ouattara. Fact-checking consultant and journalist in Ivory Coast, Kaberu Tairu, confirmed there was no coup.
Full Text
Calls for military rule by many African youth have been on the rise, particularly following successful coups in countries such as Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso. DUBAWA previously published an explainer on the rising glorification of military coups in Africa, including how a TikTok user and critic, Mutapa Bere (Mutapabere3), described military regimes in Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Chad as beneficial to the continent.
Mutapabere and others have criticised regional bodies such as the African Union (AU), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), accusing them of silence in the face of alleged Western interference and ineffective leadership in Africa.
It is within this context that a recent claim surfaced on X. On May 22, 2025, a user identified as MEHMET VEFA DAG (@AFRICANDEMOC) posted a video (archived here) to show a military operation in which President Alassane Ouattara was allegedly captured. The caption reads: “Military Coup Ivory Coast… President Alassane Ouattara was captured by the military. Alasane Ouattara has been apprehended.”
As of May 22, 2025, the post had garnered over 350,000 views, 5,200 likes, 450 comments, and 2,000 reposts, reflecting significant traction.
The comment section was divided. While some users applauded the supposed coup, others expressed scepticism or flatly rejected the claim.
For instance, x user Musa Radebe (@musawenkosir1) commented, “Great job from the military, and this is a clear message to western stooges in other capitals.”
Another user, Peter Okoye (@MrP7529), added, “This is good. They need to lock him up and make sure he doesn’t have access to communication.”
Papy Kapole (@KV0728) discredited this claim. He wrote, “This is fake news. None of my friends in Ivory Coast are aware of a coup d’état.”
Another user, Chude (@chude__), made a similar post the same day. This post has been deleted; however, it has been archived here. Multiple accounts shared additional variations of the claim, which are archived here, here, here, and here, further amplifying the false narrative.
Given the potential regional and international implications of such a claim and its virality, DUBAWA in collaboration with Parallel News and Kruzz 92.9FM Asaba proceeded to investigate.
Verification
We conducted a series of keyword searches using phrases such as “2025 military coup in Ivory Coast,” “Ouattara captured by military,” and “Ivory Coast coup.” We found no credible reports from trusted local or international news outlets to support the claim.
We also searched for official statements from the Ivorian government, ECOWAS, and the African Union. As of the time of this report, no comments confirm the occurrence of a coup or President Ouattara’s arrest.
We conducted a reverse image search on keyframes from the viral video. The results revealed that the video originated in April 2011 and depicts the arrest of former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo, not Alassane Ouattara.
According to credible reports from Al Jazeera and France24, Gbagbo was forcibly removed from office after he refused to concede defeat to Ouattara in the 2010 presidential elections. The video in question shows the moment Gbagbo was captured by pro-Ouattara forces, with support from French and UN troops. Gbagbo was later transferred to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to face charges of crimes against humanity, which were eventually dropped.
Also, Kaberu Tairu, Fact-checking Consultant and DUBAWA’s Focal Point in Côte d’Ivoire, confirmed that there was no coup in the country.
“This is false information — more precisely, a Foreign Interference and Manipulation of Information (FIMI) aimed at destabilising and creating tensions in Côte d’Ivoire ahead of the upcoming elections. Tracing the origin of this disinformation reveals that most of the actors involved in spreading it are located in neighboring countries of Côte d’Ivoire, particularly member states of the new Alliance of Sahel States (AES), composed of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger.”
He further revealed that on the day after this rumor circulated, last Thursday, President Alassane Ouattara chaired the weekly Council of Ministers at the Presidential Palace in Abidjan. The president also attended a ceremony for the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize named after Côte d’Ivoire’s first president, alongside Togolese President Faure Gnassingbé.
Conclusion
The claim that President Alassane Ouattara was captured in a military coup is false. The video used to support the claim is from 2011 and shows the arrest of former President Laurent Gbagbo, not Ouattara. No credible evidence, media reports, or official statements corroborate the occurrence of a military coup in Ivory Coast as of May 2025.
Emmanuel Onwuka