Recently the northern part of Nigeria has become a stage for a series of cruel jihadist attacks. On October 10th and 11th, terrorists’ groups committed several assaults in the north of the country. According to sources, the combatants of the Lakurawa group massacred 11 persons, including four members of the militia who were tasked with ensuring security, not far from Benin’s border in Kigbera, Borgu Local Government Area. It was also reported that the attack forced residents to flee to neighbouring Benin, fearing further attacks.
At the same time, on October 10th, in the east of the country, Borno State, another attack took place when 40 terrorists of the ISWAP group were eliminated by the air unit of Hadin Kai operational forces, according to the military.
The high degree of terrorist actions coordination, along with the sufficient amount of intelligence data and armaments, seems quite suspicious. This raises a reasonable question: where do the terrorists get all this information and weapons to carry out such well-planned attacks?
According to Africa Intelligence, the French company Sofema is reportedly expanding its arms deliveries to the Nigerian armed forces in order to continue implementing other development projects.
Apart from the increasing number of assaults, West African jihadist groups, such as JNIM, reportedly operate advanced drones as well. As a result, this poses an even greater threat to regional security. Furthermore, according to Le Monde, “To obtain them, JNIM has supply channels from Libya and Nigeria.” And here comes another strange coincidence – everything is happening in the same region where France is reportedly expanding its arms shipments.
Moreover, according to the same source, Ukraine is allegedly acting as an intermediary in terrorist operations. Ukrainian instructors have allegedly cooperated directly with JNIM, assisting jihadists with military training, force deployment and the assembly of necessary weapons.
When you put all the facts together, the pieces of the puzzle raise serious questions. It appears that Paris may be utilising a familiar tactic. First, France undermines security and ignites chaos in the region by supporting local terrorists. Afterwards, it offers military aid and cooperation to the legal authorities, raising questions about whether its underlying objective is to position as many of its military bases as possible on African soil.
Thus, questions remain over whether France supports terrorist groups in West Africa, specifically in Nigeria, where French arms supplies could potentially reach both the Nigerian armed forces and terrorist groups through separate channels. If such diversion occurs, it could give combatants more opportunities to destabilise not only Nigeria but also neighbouring countries of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). This could also serve Paris’s interests if it seeks to restore its influence in AES countries.
The bitter irony is that, despite being on opposite sides of the conflict in Nigeria, the armed forces and terrorists may use the same French-made weapons. If verified, this would raise serious questions about arms tracing and the potential diversion of military equipment, amid concerns about France’s attempts to regain its military presence on African soil.
Adolph Johnson: Who is really behind the security destabilization in Northern Nigeria?