FACK CHECK: Video Of Niger, Burkina Faso Soldiers Allegedly Awaiting ECOWAS Military Action Was Shot In 2021

Is a video circulating on the Tiktok social platform showing a regiment of soldiers alongside war trucks and military helicopters preparing for the Economic Community of West African States(ECOWAS) military invasion of Niger?

The 25-minute video shared by a TikToker identified as Esanman on Thursday revealed that the Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali Juntas were preparing ahead of a possible attack on Niger by the Nigeria-led ECOWAS forces.

A voice at the background says the Nigerien military chiefs were adequately prepared to defend the Republic against the use of force by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) over failure to reinstate the ousted democratic government.

The narrator said Niger was ready to fight, describing the decision of ECOWAS chaired,  President Bola Tinubu, as a misplaced priority, having neglected the insecurity in his own country.

As of press time, the video had generated over 32,000 reactions; 2200 comments; 2300 saves and 5000 reshares. The poster describes himself as entertaining and informing his over 8000 followers on current trends in the sub-region.

But is this true?

A quick analysis of the video via a Google reverse image search showed it originated in August 2021, during the evacuation process of the United States (US) service members and nationals at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan.

The heavy presence of military personnel and hardware (over 5000) were the US Forces deployed to evacuate over 100,000 Americans, with at least 26 U.S. military C-17 aircraft from Afghanistan. This was after the US announced plans to withdraw from a 20-year war in Afghanistan.

Aside from the military, the mammoth crowd at the airport was Afghan civilians, clustering the US fighter aircraft with the intent to be evacuated.

VERDICT

Despite its misleading content, the poster appears to lack basic knowledge of the conditions required to deploy Nigerian soldiers for foreign combat.

Part of the condition as provided in Section 5 (4) of the 1999 Constitution is that the President must get express approval from the Nigerian Senate before sending soldiers for combat in foreign land.

Section 5 (4) of the 1999 Nigeria Constitution states:

(4) Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section –

(a) the president shall not declare a state of war between the Federation and another country except with the sanction of a resolution of both Houses of the National Assembly sitting in a joint session;

(b) except with the prior approval of the Senate, no member of the armed forces of the Federation shall be deployed on combat duty outside Nigeria.

However, there are provisional conditions upon which the president can deploy soldiers to foreign combat as contained in Subsection 5 of the same main section.

(5) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection 4 of this section, the president; in consultation with the National Defence Council, may deploy members of the armed forces of the Federation on limited combat duty outside Nigeria if he is satisfied that the national security is under imminent threat or danger;

“Provided that the president shall, within seven days of actual combat engagement, seek the consent of the Senate, and the Senate shall thereafter give or refuse the said consent within fourteen days”.

At the moment, Nigerians await the response of the Senate to the letter by the President to approve a military invasion of the Niger Republic.

Therefore, the video of Burkina Faso and Mali military personnel currently in the Niger Republic is FALSE and should be disregarded.