In the days leading up to the 2023 general elections, a video showing white armored vehicles being transported on flatbed trucks in a northern state went viral. The caption claimed that the United Nations had deployed 50,000 peacekeepers to Nigeria to take over security from the police and army because of “intelligence of an impending civil war.”
The United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Lagos released a statement clarifying that the UN does not have any peacekeeping troops in Nigeria and has not been invited by the Federal Government to provide security for the elections. The white vehicles in the video were actually Nigerian Army equipment being moved for a routine exercise, or in some cases, were vehicles being manufactured/refurbished in Nigeria for export to other UN missions abroad.
The Federal Government also reassured the public that the Nigerian Police Force, supported by other domestic security agencies, was fully capable of securing the polls. The UN’s role in the Nigerian election was limited to technical support, observation, and diplomatic encouragement of a peaceful process. The “UN Intervention” myth is a common piece of misinformation that surfaces during periods of high political tension in West Africa.
