•Tchiani and Tinubu
Residents of border communities in Sokoto have dismissed allegations of the presence of the French Army in the area.
Recall that the Head of the Military Junta in the Niger Republic, General Abdourahamane Tchiani, in a recently circulated video, accused President Bola Tinubu and some members of his administration of colluding with the French Army to attack Niger, reports Saturday PUNCH.
Our correspondent, who visited the border communities of Tangaza and Gudu Local Government areas in Sokoto State on a fact-finding mission, confirmed that the allegations were baseless.
Speaking to newsmen at his palace, Alhaji Aminu Aliyu, the traditional ruler of Balle in Gudu Local Government Area of Sokoto State, denied the existence of any foreign military camp in his territory.
Aliyu said in an interview yesterday in Balle, a Nigerian border community with the Niger Republic, that the claims by the Nigerien junta leader were baseless. He stressed that his subjects had at no time reported the existence of a foreign military camp in the area.
According to him, his people were engaged in various agricultural and business activities, and if such a camp existed, his men would have informed him.
Another community leader, Malam Abdurahman Shehu, stated that communities such as Marake, Kudula, and Bikini, located 3 to 35 kilometres from the Niger Republic border, had not sighted any military camps.
Shehu noted that Balle and other communities maintained cordial relationships with Nigerien communities, and no reports of foreign military camps had been received from the residents.
Malam Kabiru Muhammad, a resident of Ruwa-Wuri in Tangaza Local Government Area, acknowledged the sporadic presence of Lakurawa bandits but denied the existence of any foreign military camp in the region.
“We noticed the presence of Lakurawa bandits at times, trespassing on our farms with guns. They were always chased away by the Nigerian Army stationed in the area, but there is no foreign military camp terrorising our people,” Muhammad said.
A commercial motorcyclist in Ruwa-Wuri, identified simply as Ibrahim, said he had been operating in the town for over five years and had never seen any French Army in the area.
“I have been here for a long time and frequently carry passengers to and from Niger Republic daily. I have never seen any army apart from those of this country and Niger Republic,” he said.
Ibrahim Mutolib, chairman of the Ruwa-Wuri cattle market, also dismissed the claims, stating that the community had maintained good relations with their Nigerien counterparts, especially within the market, where both sides traded peacefully.
