By Pascal Ibe

Claim






An X user, @Joe_Bassey has claimed that the military-led regimes of Niger Republic, Burkina Faso, and Mali have launched a common biometric passport to harmonize travel within the Sahel States Alliance (AES) and boost their economy.





Verdict 










This claim is FALSE. At the moment, no credible local media from the three nations confirmed this to be true. In September, the three countries said they would introduce new biometric passports as part of their withdrawal from a West African bloc in favor of a new Sahel alliance, but there’s no confirmation anywhere that this has been achieved.





Full Text





An X user, X user, @Joe_Bassey has claimed that the military-led regimes of Niger Republic, Burkina Faso, and Mali have launched a common biometric passport to harmonize travel within the Sahel States Alliance (AES) and boost their economy.





He posted a photo of the three military leaders with the caption, “BREAKING POSITIVE NEWS : 





Mali 🇲🇱, Burkina Faso 🇧🇫, and Niger 🇳🇪 have launched a common biometric passport to harmonize travel within the Sahel States Alliance (AES) and boost their economy.





The post generated over 129k views, 1.6k reposts, and more than 7k likes, according to X analytics.





On 6 July 2024, the three military leaders at a summit in Niamey, Niger, signed a confederation treaty to strengthen the existing mutual defense pact. The signing marked the conclusion of the first joint summit of the alliance.





Verifying This Claim





First, no credible local media organizations in Niger Republic, Burkina Faso, and Mali have reported the military regimes have launched the biometric passport after a thorough search by FACTWATCH.





Also, no reputable international media organization confirmed this to be true.





In September, the three countries said they would introduce new biometric passports as part of their withdrawal from a West African bloc in favor of a new Sahel alliance, but there’s no confirmation anywhere that this has been achieved.





This Fact Checker discovered that the image attached to the claim by @Joe_Bassey was a picture taken when the three military leaders met in Niamey, Niger Republic, for the Sahel Alliance summit in July.





This Fact Checker has yet to see any launched biometric passport as claimed.





Conclusion 





The claim that Niger Republic, Burkina Faso, and Mali have launched a new biometric passport is FALSE as it cannot be confirmed anywhere yet.