IN SHORT: The Nigerian army has denied a claim that French soldiers have been deployed to Maiduguri in northeast Nigeria to help fight the terrorist group Boko Haram. The video circulating on social media is not proof of any French deployment.
French soldiers have been deployed to Maiduguri in Borno, a northeastern state in Nigeria, to help fight against Boko Haram. This is according to several posts on Facebook.
Boko Haram is a terrorist organisation responsible for numerous attacks on civilians, schools and government facilities, as well as kidnappings. These include the widely reported abduction of schoolgirls in Chibok, also in Borno state, in 2014.
One post, published 16 December 2024, is headlined: “END OF DENIAL: COMMENCEMENT OF FRANCE MILITARY DEPLOYMENT IN NIGERIA.”
The post features a video of a soldier speaking to the media in Hausa, the language predominantly spoken in the northern part of Nigeria. A white man in military fatigues and cap stands beside the Hausa-speaking soldier.
Part of the post reads: “Yesterday, the Chief of Army staff received the first contingent of French soldiers and immediately deployed them to maiduguri to ‘HELP NIGERIA IN FIGHTING BOKO HARAM’ . The same boko haram they claimed to have decimated and are scamping for safety.”
During his address on Nigeria's Independence Day on 1 October, president Bola Tinubu said that the government had “eliminated” Boko Haram and bandit commanders faster than ever, over 300 at last count.
Furthermore, in an effort to deepen economic ties with France, Tinubu visited French president Emmanuel Macron in November 2024, sparking rumours on social media.
The post questions the genuineness of the president's assertion about eliminating Boko Haram and claims that the Nigerian army chief has received French soldiers to be deployed to Maiduguri.
Similar posts can be found here and here. (Note: See more instances at the end of this report.)
But does the video show French soldiers' deployed in Maiduguri? We checked.
‘False claim’
On 16 December, the Nigerian army denied the claim, saying that no plan was underway to establish a French military base in the northeast.
The army explained that the video was from another event on 25 October at which Brig Gen Abubakar Haruna addressed the press alongside a member of the British Military Advisory Training Team.
Using keywords from the statement, Africa Check found a longer version of the video on the News Central TV page on YouTube, posted on 27 October.
The video features a caption that reads: “UK Military Supports Nigeria with Counter-IED Equipment for Counterterrorism.”
The caption aligns with the army’s claim that the video was taken then, during the presentation of counter-improvised explosive device equipment to improve operations in northeastern Nigeria.
According to the YouTube video, the white soldier in the video is Col Martin Leach, deputy head of the British defence staff for West Africa.
The video does not show French soldiers deployed to Nigeria and is not evidence for this.
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