FACT CHECK: Viral video of military showing off arms NOT from Niger Republic

A circulating video has labelled some soldiers showing off their arms and military skills as Nigerien troops.

In the widely shared TikTok video, heavily armed soldiers can be seen wielding guns and imitating battlefield stances in what seems like a preparation for battle.

Chants of war songs are also heard as the soldiers march on, menacingly surrounded by citizens who look on with different expressions of fear, admiration, and amazement.

👆👉Pray for our soliders for this battle because Niger Republic military are more than ready for face their enemy. Look at this video. Say no to War. Africa fighting Africa. This is what Western people want so that they will sale their weapons 🔪 🔫🔫. Africa why. pic.twitter.com/FWukwR6RP5

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— Victor Chuks (@VictorC26525018) August 4, 2023

On Friday, @VictorC26525018, a Twitter user, posted a video asking Nigerian citizens to pray for the country’s troops as they go to face their Nigerien counterparts who are “more than ready”.

“Pray for our soldiers for this battle because Niger Republic military are more than ready to face their enemy. Look at this video. Say no to War. Africa fighting Africa. This is what Western people want so they will sell their weapons. Africa why,” the tweet which has over 100 views reads.

Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, Lagos gubernatorial candidate under the Labour Party (LP), also posted the same video on his Twitter account.

Although Rhodes-Vivour did not say the soldiers were from Nigerien troops, the politician’s tweet centred around the crisis in the West African country.

“Unlike some, I have only one passport and have sworn no allegiance to any other state. Nigeria is all I have,” he said.

“A war with a people who appear to be uniting around a common interest, seeking economic freedom and a departure from overbearing western influence will have very dire consequences for our image as a regional power and could pose much graver security threats.”

As of the time of this report, Rhodes-Vivour’s tweet has gathered 1,103 replies, 3,217 retweets, 7,801 likes, 416 bookmarks, and was viewed 1.8m times.

Unlike some, i have only one passport and have sworn no allegiance to any other state. Nigeria is all I have.

A war with a people who appear to be uniting around a common interest, seeking economic freedom and a departure from over bearing western influence will have very dire… pic.twitter.com/WJ0tmLThiT

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— Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour (@GRVlagos) August 4, 2023

The video with the same caption also surfaced across multiple Facebook accounts.

Open Nigeria, a Facebook page that claims to be run by a non-profit organisation, posted the video saying Nigeriens had nothing to lose in the war.

“I hope Seyi Tinubu, Yusuf Bichi, Umar Ganduje, Hope Uzodimma, Festus Keyamo, Muhamadu Buhari, Femi Gbajabiamila, Tony Elumelu, Aliko Dangote, Akpabio, Orji Uzor Kalu and the children of all the supporters of the darkness will be at the battlefront against Nigeriens who have nothing to lose in this Imperial European war against Africa,” the post reads.

The widely shared video comes amid President Bola Tinubu’s move to deploy military forces to the Niger Republic in response to the ongoing political instability in the country.

Tinubu, who is chairperson of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), said the resolve to use force was part of the bloc’s conclusions at the meeting held on Sunday in Abuja.

ECOWAS had given Niger a week from Sunday to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum or face harder sanctions.

However, many countries, including Russia, and concerned stakeholders such as the ECOWAS defence chiefs have all called for dialogue as the way forward instead of the use of force.

VERIFICATION

TheCable subjected multiple keyframes of the video to a reverse image search to determine the earliest time the video surfaced on the internet.

Results of the search showed that the video had been posted on a YouTube page on April 4 – Senegal’s Independence Day.

The video captioned “April 4: Commandos ensure show | Independence Day Senegal | 2023” showed the soldiers, cheered on by citizens, as they displayed a ton of theatrics to mark the celebration.

The military parade marking the independence was the first to be held in Dakar, the country’s capital, in four years following a break caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Violent clashes between security forces and the political opposition supporters had been recorded in the country a week before the celebration of the 63rd independence anniversary from France.

VERDICT

The posts labelling the troops in the viral video as Nigerien troops are false. The soldiers featured in the video are the Senegalese military performing a parade to celebrate the country’s independence. Also, the flags in the background are Senegalese flag colours, not Nigerien.