Nigeria denies any collusion with France to destabilize Niger

Nigeria has denied accusations by Niger’s army chief, Brigadier Basic Abdourahmane Tchiani, of collusion with France to destabilize the junta-ruled nation.

In an interview on Christmas Day, Basic Tchiani accused France of allying with militant teams within the Lake Chad area to compromise Niger’s safety, allegedly with Nigeria’s data.

“The Nigerian authorities will not be unaware of this sneaky strategy,” declared Basic Tchiani, quoted by AFP.

In response, Nigeria’s nationwide safety adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, informed BBC Hausa that the allegations have been “baseless” and “false”.

Mr. Ribadu stated Nigeria would “by no means sabotage Niger or enable catastrophe to occur to it.”

Nigerian Data Minister Mohammed Idris stated the allegations have been baseless and a “diversionary tactic to cowl up the failures of his administration.”

“These claims exist solely within the realm of creativeness. Nigeria has by no means engaged in any alliance, overt or covert, with France – or every other nation – to destabilize the Niger Republic,” stated Idris.

Idris additionally denied sabotaging Niger’s pipeline and agriculture, which he was accused of.

Basic Tchiani’s allegations have worsened diplomatic tensions with Nigeria, already tense for the reason that 2023 army coup that toppled former President Mohamed Bazoum.

The West African regional bloc, ECOWAS, led by Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, imposed financial sanctions on Niger and threatened army intervention if constitutional order was not restored.

ECOWAS defended Nigeria on Thursday in a press release refuting these claims.

“For years, Nigeria has supported the peace and safety of a number of nations, not solely within the West African sub-region but additionally on the African continent,” the regional bloc stated in a press release shared on Thursday .

“ECOWAS subsequently refutes any suggestion that such a beneficiant and magnanimous nation might turn into a state sponsor of terrorism,” it reads.

Two weeks in the past, ECOWAS approved the withdrawal of three military-led countries, including Nigerafter refusing to revive a democratic regime.

Because the coup, Niger has urged France and different Western powers to withdraw their army bases and kind a safety alliance with its junta-led neighbors Mali and Burkina Faso.