Nigerien military leader General Abdourahamane Tchiani has raised fresh terrorism allegations against the Federal Government of Nigeria.
But the Nigerian government has countered the claims, saying they were nothing but tissues of lies.
The recent development has further strained the delicate relationship between Nigeria and its closest neighbour, Niger, and by extension, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
In an interview he granted TRT Afrika in Hausa, the military leader said he personally reached out to prominent Nigerian officials, including former National Intelligence Agency (NIA) Director General, Ahmed Rufa’i and the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu and that the Federal Government sent a delegation to Niger Republic and spoke to the captured terrorists.
But the Federal Government dismissed the allegation as baseless and untrue. It said the claims exist only in the realm of imagination, saying that Nigeria never engaged in any overt or covert alliance with France or any other country to sponsor terrorist attack or destablise Niger Republic.
The Niger military leader who accused France of complicity in funding and equipping Boko Haram alleged a collusion between Nigeria and France to destabilise his country.
“The Nigerian government was aware of the formation of the Lakurawa terrorist group but ignored it. We personally reached out to the NIA and the NSA to tell them and the government even sent a delegation.
“The delegation to Niamey spoke directly with the captured terrorists in Niger custody only for Niger to later find out that indeed the government was aware of the movement by France to create a space in between the Sokoto border with Zamfara to accommodate the new terrorists,” he alleged.
Notwithstanding the denial, Tchani has insisted that since the French government became involved, knowing that Chadian military had targeted terrorists with airstrikes, they provided the terrorists with sophisticated weapons capable of bringing down military jets.
“It is France that gave the weapons to Boko Haram terrorists, so that if a Chadian military jet came to strike them, the terrorists could use the weapons provided by the French government to bring it down.
“They struck on October 16, when France supplied them with the weapons. The information we gathered from the terrorists we arrested indicated that there is an ongoing discussion, and Nigerian leaders are aware of it.
Tchani added that France has launched its base in Benin Republic to also monitor neighboring countries that oppose them.
Earlier last Friday, the Nigerien authorities had alleged that the Lakurawa terrorist group, with the help of foreign security forces, including Nigeria’s, were responsible for the attack on the Niger-Benin oil pipeline on December 13, 2024 in Gaya, Dosso Region of Niger Republic.
Tchani further explained that one of the terrorists they arrested informed them that the Nigerian government is well aware of the operational centers for terrorists in Sokoto.
Tchiani, in his fresh allegations, some of them so grievous to be mentioned, said France promised to give Tinubu a certain amount of money in exchange for him ceding an area in Borno State for French military deployment.
He said: “President Tinubu should come out and tell Nigerians how much he collected from France. If he refuses to do so, there will be a day of reckoning. Allah is watching.
“ECOWAS has been out of control. It has merely become a puppet of the French authorities. France dictates to it as it pleases. This is because the leaders of ECOWAS countries are power-hungry people.
“From the Nigerian president to those of Benin, Senegal, and Côte d’Ivoire — they all go to France whenever elections are around. They go and bow before Macron to ask for funds to contest again. Do you have the temerity to say no to the person who gave you money?”
Tchiani also alleged that French military personnel were present on an island known as Kurnawa, as well as in places like Tangarwa and Dogon Chuku.
“We repatriated two French officials who had relocated to Nigeria. They were warmly accepted by Nigeria. They provide training to terrorists,” he alleged in the widely circulated videos.
He also alleged that France designated an area as ‘Canada’, recruited many Nigerians and enlisted them with the tacit knowledge of Nigerian authorities.
Tchiani accused France of arming Boko Haram fighters in the Lake Chad region with anti-aircraft weapons in order to combat Chadian forces.
He alleged that when France realised that Chadian forces were using airstrikes against Boko Haram, they armed the sect members with ground-to-air weapons so that they could bring down Chadian military aircrafts.
“The weapons were delivered on October 16. France has a base in Lake Chad. The reports we gathered from high-profile terrorists in our detention facilities revealed a sinister plan.
“And by the way, Nigerian authorities are not unaware of this underhanded move.
“There is a forest called ‘Gaba’ in Sokoto, where they are planning to establish an operational center for terrorists, named ‘Lakurawa.
“We received intelligence on March 4 that France and ISWAP were planning to set up an operational center in Sokoto, Kebbi, and Zamfara to prepare positions for terrorist activities.” The French and ISWAP made this deal on March 4, 2024.
Tchiani further alleged that another key figure in Nigerian government was also aware of the situation, but they remained silent and refused to act.
“As Niger and Nigeria are closely connected, we felt it was our responsibility to report any information that could be harmful.
“We reported what France was planning to do to the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ahmed Rufai Abubakar, as we were unaware of these developments.
“He assured us that he would send personnel to gather more information. We took on their responsibilities, and there was no location we did not visit or have exclusive discussions with the arrested terrorists.
“The terrorists disclosed everything about France’s plans to establish a terrorist base in Sokoto. The intelligence was then returned to Nigeria.
“We later discovered that the person we contacted, Ahmed Rufai Abubakar, is one of the individuals used by the West as a negotiator.
“He supervises the terrorists and is also sent to a country called the Central African Republic. If the terrorists are arrested, he is the one responsible for bailing them out, as well as handling their weapons and providing money for food. He oversees the entire process.
“After learning this, things began to fall apart. We had trusted the wrong people, and once we discovered the truth, we were left unsure of who to trust or confide in about the situation in Nigeria.
“Meanwhile, Nuhu Ribadu is aware of the entire issue, but everyone involved has kept silent about it. Having seen how things played out, we decided to take matters into our own hands. If the Lakurawa terrorists are arrested, we are now considering what to do.”
“We did all of this out of brotherhood with Nigeria. Alas, we didn’t realise that Nigeria’s decline came from the leadership, until later.”
He said Niger decided to take “decisive action against the French conspiracy, as well as deal with the Lakurawa group, which was reportedly positioned in neighbouring countries to launch attacks on Niger’s oil pipeline facilities.”
Reacting yesterday, the Information Minister, Idris, said the allegations by Tchiani existed solely in the realm of imagination as Nigeria had never engaged in any overt or covert alliance with France or any other country to sponsor terrorist attacks or destabilise the Niger Republic in the wake of the undemocratic change in the leadership of that country.
He said President Tinubu, as chairman of ECOWAS, had demonstrated exemplary leadership, keeping the doors of the sub-regional body open to re-engaging Niger Republic despite the political situation in the country.
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Idris said Nigeria remained committed to fostering peace, harmony, and historic diplomatic ties with Niger.
“Nigeria remains committed to fostering peace, harmony, and historic diplomatic ties with Niger. Nigeria’s armed forces, in collaboration with partners in the Multinational Joint Task Force, are succeeding in curbing terrorism within the region.
“It is, therefore, absurd to suggest that Nigeria would conspire with any foreign power to undermine the peace and security of a neighbouring country.
“Neither the Nigerian government nor any of its officials has ever been involved in arming or supporting any terror group to attack Niger Republic.
“Furthermore, no part of Nigeria has been ceded to any foreign power for subversive operations in the Niger Republic.”
He said Nigeria’s Armed Forces, in collaboration with partners in the Multinational Joint Task Force, were succeeding in curbing terrorism within the region.
According to the minister, it is, therefore, absurd to suggest that Nigeria would conspire with any foreign power to undermine the peace and security of a neighbouring country.
He also said neither the Nigerian government nor any of its officials had ever been involved in arming or supporting any terror group to attack Niger Republic.
He also emphasised that no part of Nigeria had been ceded to any foreign power for subversive operations in Niger Republic.
“We reiterate our full support to senior Nigerian government officials for their untiring commitment to fostering peace and security between the government and people of Nigeria and Niger, and for their efforts towards stronger cooperation in the ECOWAS region.
“Indeed, Nigeria has a long-standing tradition of safeguarding its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Unlike some nations, Nigeria has never permitted foreign powers to establish military bases on its soil. This demonstrates our commitment to national independence and regional leadership,” Idris stated.
The minister said the accusation that Nigeria sought to sabotage Niger’s pipelines and agriculture was both unfounded and counterproductive.
“Nigeria has consistently supported Niger’s economic development through joint energy and infrastructure projects, such as the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline and the Kano-Maradi Railway Project. It is illogical to suggest that Nigeria would undermine initiatives it has actively promoted,” he added.
“The claims about the alleged establishment of a so-called Lakurawa terrorist headquarters in Sokoto State, purportedly orchestrated by Nigeria in collaboration with France, are baseless.”
He noted that Nigeria has been a regional leader in combating terrorism, dedicating significant resources and lives to ensure stability in the Lake Chad Basin and beyond.
“Recently, the Nigerian military launched Operation Forest Sanity III, specifically addressing the Lakurawa threat, Code Named Operation Chase Lakurawa Out. How can a government actively fighting the Lakurawa menace now be accused of harbouring the same group within its borders? These accusations lack credible evidence and seem to be part of a broader attempt to deflect attention from Niger’s internal challenges,” he said.
He therfore urged the public to disregard these allegations, as they are false.
“The public is urged to disregard these false allegations. Those making such claims, particularly the military leader in Niger Republic, must provide credible evidence to substantiate them.
“Any attempt to blackmail Nigeria over ECOWAS’s principled stance against the unconstitutional seizure of power in the Niger Republic is both disingenuous and doomed to fail.”
He said Tchiani’s allegations were not only unfounded but also a dangerous attempt to divert attention from his administration’s shortcomings.
“Nigeria remains committed to fostering regional stability and will continue to lead efforts to address terrorism and other transnational challenges.
“We urge Niger to focus on constructive dialogue and collaboration rather than peddling baseless accusations,” Idris said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had also debunked the allegation and assured that Nigeria would continue to explore peaceful means to maintain its cordial relationship with Niger for the benefit of the people of both nations.
Nigeria and other members of the ECOWAS had imposed sanctions on Niger and mulled a military action to restore constitutional order in the country following the overthrow of President Mohamed Bazoum in July 2023.
Similarly, Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa, Acting Head, Crisis Monitoring and Public Communication, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, described Tchiani’s allegations as completely false.
“We share a lot of common history and Nigeria is committed to resolving the withdrawal from ECOWAS by Niger, Mali and Burkina-Faso. So, we don’t want any additional issues that will strain that process. Nigeria has never been known as a terrorist sponsor. We have been fighting Boko Haram for many years now and we have been committed to peacekeeping efforts in different parts of the world.
“There has been no instance whereby Nigeria has been linked to any terrorist group all over the world. We condemn the activities of terrorists within our boundaries and we can’t support the activities of terrorists outside the borders of Nigeria. So, the allegations by the Nigerien government are not true at all,” he said.
In addition, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Malam Nuhu Ribadu, has denied terrorism allegations by Niger’s military leader, General Abdulrahman Tchiani against Nigeria.
He rejected the allegations and challenged journalists and the public to verify the claims.
“Even England, which colonised Nigeria, never stationed soldiers here. When France wanted to bring its troops, we refused. Why should we agree now?” he asked.
“Our shared enemy is terrorism, not each other. We must work together to secure our communities and resist external interference,” Ribadu stated.
He urged Niger’s leaders to address their grievances with France without dragging Nigeria into their disputes, adding that Nigeria prioritises regional unity and cooperation over foreign interference.