December 16, (THEWILL) – The Defence Headquarters (DHQ), on Monday, refuted claims that the French military was planning to establish a base in Nigeria.
In a post shared on Saturday, on X, Human rights activist, Mahdi Shehu, claimed France had deployed troops to Nigeria in a bid to eventually establish military bases in the guise of combating Nigeria’s insurgency. He claimed that the French troops were received by Olufemi Olatubosun Oluyede, Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS), on Friday and they were to be immediately deployed to Borno.
This is coming after a recently signed MOU between the Nigerian and French governments. THEWILL earlier reported the MOU aimed to “promote and diversify both countries’ critical minerals value chains in the solid minerals sector.”
In a statement on Monday, Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen. Edward Buba, dismissed reports of a French military base as fake and mischievous.
He said, “The attention of the Defence Headquarters has been drawn to online reports alleging the arrival of the first contingent of French soldiers in Maiduguri towards establishing a French military base in North-East Nigeria.
“The Armed Forces of Nigeria hereby state unequivocally that this information is fake, totally false and mischievous.
“It would be recalled that the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, recently addressed this matter in various media forums, where he debunked such news and speculations.
“Nevertheless, the military will continue to carry out its constitutional responsibilities most professionally and ensure the territorial integrity of our nation. Kindly disseminate, please.”
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