Video shows Nigeria supporting France's fight against Islamists in northern Mali in 2013, not the deployment of French troops to northern Nigeria
IN SHORT: Several social media users in Nigeria have posted a video showing French soldiers deployed to northern Nigeria. However, the video was posted in 2015 on YouTube and is not proof of French soldiers' deployment to Nigeria.
"VIDEO FROM OUR INBOX: French Military Officially In Northern Nigeria," a viral post, published 2 January 2025, is captioned on Facebook.
The post begins:
After serial denial by the Tinubu's administration, the Chief of Nigerian Defense Staff and other high ranking senior officials, video evidence supporting and affirming the claims and accusations of the leader of Niger Republic's military junta, Gen Abdourahamane Tchiani, that the Nigerian government agreed to a deal with the French to settle their displaced military contingents in northern Nigeria.
The post claims that French soldiers have arrived in northern Nigeria despite the Nigerian government's denial of this.
The short video accompanying the claim shows the Nigerian army unpacking materials, and senior officers, including a white soldier, speaking to the media.
The message then concludes: "As can be evidently seen, a joint section of both nation's army were pictured unpacking the military hardwares, munitions alongside other undetailed properties from the French aircraft."
Africa Check debunked a similar claim in December 2024.
Nigerian president Bola Tinubu visited French president Emmanuel Macron in November 2024, which led to rumours on social media that French soldiers were being deployed to Nigeria.
Similar posts can be found here and here. (Note: See more instances of the claim at the end of this report.)
But does the video show French soldiers deployed to northern Nigeria? We checked.
Old video from 2013, published in 2015
Africa Check ran parts of the video through Google reverse image search.
One of the results led to a post on X that debunks the claim, which appeared in December 2024. Africa Check debunked a similar claim in the same month.
The post says the video is from 2013 and includes a link to the video.
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Africa Check found the same video posted on 31 July 2015 on the Associated Press's archive page on YouTube.
The caption reads: "Nigerian soldiers disembarking, French unload equipment, German transporter lands."
Further details of the video suggest it was taken on 19 January 2013 but posted on YouTube in 2015.
The white man in the video is a French soldier.
In early 2013, the Economic Community of West African States sent troops from different parts of the region, including Togo, to support the fight against Islamist militants in northern Mali.
The video shows Nigerian soldiers arriving at Bamako airport to support French forces. It does not show French soldiers in northern Nigeria.
The same false claim was found here, here, here, here and here.
