Here’s What’s Happening
Things are heating up between Niger and Nigeria after Niger’s military leader, Brig Gen Abdourahmane Tchiani, made some bold claims. He says Nigeria is secretly working with France to cause trouble in Niger.
In a Christmas Day interview, Gen Tchiani accused France of helping militant groups in the Lake Chad region and said Nigeria knew about it—or maybe even helped.
But Nigeria isn’t having any of it. Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, quickly shut down the claims, calling them “baseless” and “false.” He said Nigeria would never harm Niger or let anything bad happen to it.
Nigeria’s Information Minister, Mohammed Idris, also spoke out. He said the accusations were a way for Niger’s leader to distract people from his own problems.
“These claims are completely made up,” Idris said. “Nigeria has never worked with France—or anyone else—to harm Niger.”
Gen Tchiani didn’t stop there. He also accused Nigeria of messing with Niger’s pipelines and agriculture. But Nigeria denied those claims too.
This all comes after Niger’s military took over in 2023, removing its president. Since then, Nigeria has led West Africa’s push to bring democracy back, even threatening military action if Niger didn’t cooperate.
Now Niger has cut ties with Western countries like France, told them to remove their military bases, and joined forces with other military-led neighbors, Mali and Burkina Faso.
Meanwhile, West Africa’s regional group, Ecowas, is standing with Nigeria. They said Nigeria has always supported peace in Africa and would never work against a neighbor.
So, what happens next? With both sides refusing to back down, the tension isn’t going away anytime soon. Keep an eye on this story—it’s far from over!