The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS Commission) is insistent on the use of military force in restoring the ousted President of the Republic of Niger, Mohamed Bazoum who was overthrown on July 27 if diplomatic talks fail.
As ECOWAS President, Dr. Omar Touray, was making this known at a media briefing in Abuja to clarify the position of ECOWAS in Niger crises, the ruling Nigerien junta was making plans of its own. It escalated its diplomatic tiff with France by expelling its ambassador after France had earlier refused to accredit the Niger ambassador sent to them. The French ambassador was given 48 hours to get out of Niger.
Speaking on the situation, ECOWAS President Dr Touray said: “It is even tragic that some influential persons in the community have promoted this narrative which has been hyped in the social media as the gospel truth. These persons have conveniently ignored the strenuous efforts of the community to engage with the junta to reverse the attempted coup. For the avoidance of doubt, let me state unequivocally that ECOWAS has neither declared war on the people of Niger nor is there a plan, as it is being purported, to ‘invade’ the country.
“The ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government has only activated a full scale application of sanctions which includes the use of legitimate force to restore constitutional order. Never has ECOWAS indicated it. In the interim, the region is employing other elements of its instruments and engaging with the military authorities as can be attested to by the several missions that have been fielded to the country and our joint efforts with our partners, including the African Union and the UN.
“We are hopeful that these diplomatic efforts will yield the desired outcome and make it unnecessary for the deployment of the force. Nonetheless, preparations continue towards making the force ready for deployment.
“Consequently, the technical arms of the decision-making organs, which include the Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff have also been directed to prepare the community enforcement mechanism in case it becomes compelling to deploy the force.”
Touray added that the decision of the Heads of State and Government to activate the clause providing for the application of legitimate force in Niger was reached only after dialogue failed. We are deeply concerned about the wellbeing of the people and the country. Historically, military administrations have not demonstrated any capacity to better deal with complex political, social and security challenges.
“Let me reiterate that the decision of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, which is currently chaired by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is to work for the peaceful restoration of civilian rule in Niger Republic without any delay and to use all the instruments at the disposal of ECOWAS towards the attainment of this goal.“
Earlier, ECOWAS Chairman, President Bola Tinubu, asked the council of Ulamas to continue their mediation efforts because he is under pressure to deploy force in Niger Republic. The President asked the group led by Sheikh Bala Lau to speed up talks and get the military junta to back down, adding that he is hopeful for a peaceful resolution of the crisis.
As ECOWAS plans for war while talking, Niger has authorised its allies, Mali and Burkina Faso’s armed forces, to intervene on its territory in case of an attack. This was after the three allies’ foreign ministers met in the Nigerien capital Niamey to discuss boosting cooperation on security and other joint issues, according to a joint statement.
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