Nigeria has refuted claims made by Brig Gen Abdourahmane Tchiani, the military leader of Niger, that France and Nigeria conspired to overthrow the junta-ruled country.
During an interview on Christmas Day, Gen. Tchiani charged that France, apparently with Nigeria’s knowledge, had formed an alliance with militant organizations in the Lake Chad region in order to threaten Niger’s security.
According to AFP, Gen. Tchiani stated, “Nigerian authorities are not unaware of this underhanded move,”
Nuhu Ribadu, Nigeria’s national security adviser, responded to Hausa by calling the accusations “false” and “baseless.”
Nigeria, according to Mr. Ribadu, will never “sabotage Niger or allow any disaster to befall it”.
Mohammed Idris, the minister of information for Nigeria, claimed that the accusations were baseless and a “diversionary tactic aimed at covering his administration’s failures.”
