The Defence Headquarters has strongly refuted claims suggesting that the French military is planning to establish a base in Nigeria.
These allegations were brought to public attention by human rights activist Mahdi Shehu, who, in a video post on Saturday, criticized the government for denying the purported development. Shehu alleged that French military officers had already arrived in Borno State as part of efforts to set up the base.
In his post, Shehu wrote, “Last week, the Chief of Defence Staff denied any plan to establish French military bases in Nigeria. 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.’”
He further alleged that the French presence might lead to resource exploitation and harm to local communities, a pattern he claimed was typical of French involvement in Africa.
However, in a statement released on Monday, the Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen. Edward Buba, dismissed these allegations as false and misleading.
“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,” Buba declared.
He noted that the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, had previously addressed and debunked similar claims in various media engagements.
The statement called on the public to disregard such reports, describing them as the work of mischief-makers. Buba emphasized that the military remains committed to its constitutional duty to safeguard Nigeria’s territorial integrity.
The statement concluded, “The military will continue to carry out its responsibilities professionally and ensure the territorial integrity of our nation. Kindly disseminate, please.”
