Nigeria has denied accusations by Niger's military commander, Brigadier General Abderrahmane Chiane, of colluding with France to destabilize the junta-led country.
In an interview on Christmas Day, General Chiani accused France of allying with armed groups in the Lake Chad region to undermine Niger's security, allegedly with Nigeria's knowledge.
Agence France-Presse quoted General Chiani as saying, “The Nigerian authorities are not unaware of this deceptive step.”
In response, Nigeria's National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, told BBC Hausa that the allegations were “baseless” and “false”.
Ribadu said Nigeria would never “sabotage Niger or allow any disaster to happen there.”
Nigerian Minister of Information, Muhammad Idris, said that these allegations are baseless and that they are a “misinformation tactic aimed at covering up the failures of his administration.”
“These allegations exist only in the realm of imagination,” Idris said. “Nigeria has never engaged in any alliance, overt or covert, with France – or any other country – to destabilize the Republic of Niger.”
Idris also denied sabotaging the pipeline and agriculture in Niger, for which he was accused.
General Chiane's allegations exacerbated diplomatic tensions with Nigeria, already tense since the 2023 military coup that ousted former President Mohamed Bazoum.
The West African regional bloc, ECOWAS, led by Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, imposed economic sanctions on Niger and threatened military intervention if constitutional order was not restored.
ECOWAS defended Nigeria in a statement on Thursday refuting the allegations.
“Over the years, Nigeria has supported peace and security in many countries not only in the West African sub-region but also on the African continent,” the regional bloc said in a joint statement on Thursday.
“ECOWAS therefore refutes any suggestion that such a generous and magnanimous state would become a state sponsor of terrorism,” the statement read.
two weeks ago, ECOWAS agreed to the withdrawal of three military-led countries, including NigerAfter they refused to restore democratic rule.
Since the coup, Niger has urged France and other Western powers to withdraw its military bases and has formed a security alliance with its neighbors Mali and Burkina Faso, led by the military junta.
