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Claim: A Facebook user shared a video claiming that the French army had arrived in Nigeria, following an alliance between both countries to destabilise its military-led West African neighbour, Niger Republic.
Verdict: FALSE. The video, originally sourced from the Associated Press, was a 2013 coverage of the Nigerian army’s arrival in Mali as part of ECOWAS’ military intervention to tackle Islamist militants in northern Mali.
Full Text
The July 2023 coup in Niger Republic, which brought in Abdourahamane Tchiani as the country’s military leader, heralded political tension in West Africa. The pressure forced the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), chaired by Bola Tinubu, Nigeria’s president, to respond with sanctions and ultimatums to restore democratic governance among member states.
But the tensions worsened when Mr Tchiani publicly accused Nigeria of collaborating with France to destabilise Niger, alleging that Nigerian authorities were aware of plans to establish a terrorist stronghold within their territory. This accusation sparked outrage and concern among Nigerian officials, who vehemently denied involvement in such activities, labelling the claims as baseless.
A Facebook user, identified as “Unofficial, Support Nigerian Military,” posted a video on Jan. 2, 2025, showing soldiers alighting from military aircraft while unloading equipment. The page claimed that it was evidence countering the Nigerian government’s response to the Nigerien military leader’s allegation.
The Associated Press (AP) logo, an independent global news agency, was watermarked on the video, while “The French Army arrived [in] Nigeria” was written atop it.
In the caption, the post described the video as evidence supporting and affirming the claims and accusations of the leader of Niger Republic’s military junta despite the Nigerian Chief of Army staff’s denial, among other officials.
“Gen Abdourahamane Tchiani said that the Nigerian government agreed to a deal with the French to settle their displaced military contingents in northern Nigeria. As can be seen, a joint section of both nations’ armies was pictured unpacking the military hardware and munitions alongside other undetailed properties from the French aircraft,” the caption reads.
As of Jan. 12, 2025, the video had gained more than 18,000 views, 223 reactions, and 149 comments. The claim was also found here, here, here, and here.
Considering the implication of the claim on bilateral relations between Nigeria and Niger and its vitality, DUBAWA decided to verify the video and information.
Verification
We extracted keyframes from the video using the Invid Weverify tool and conducted a Reverse Image Search. We found the video on the Associated Press (AP) Archive’s YouTube page. However, the details differed from the viral claim.
The video was uploaded on July 31, 2015, when it did not correlate with the bilateral crisis between both countries. The page revealed that the video shot originally on Jan. 19, 2013, was news coverage of the Nigerian troop’s arrival in Bamako airport, Mali. Then, the arrival was part of a military mission from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to assist the French troops against Islamist militants in northern Mali.
The action was an international intervention in January 2013 codenamed “Operation Serval” as a response to the ongoing rebellion of the Tuareg National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), which began in March 2012.
By September 2012, various Islamist sects, like the Ansar Dine and Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), had captured key cities after disgruntled soldiers deposed the then-Malian president, Amadou Toure, on March 22, 2012.
These findings contradict the claim that go viral in 2025.
Conclusion
The crises and subsequent incidents originally related to the 2013 video had no connection to the claim that the French army arrived in Nigeria or had a discreet attempt to destabilise the Nigerian military government. Therefore, the claim is false.
