Niger crisis: Mali, Burkina Faso, 3 other countries absent as ECOWAS defence chiefs meet in Abuja
Defence chiefs from Mali, Niger Republic, Guinea Bisau, Burkina Faso, and Guinea were conspicuously absent, Wednesday, at the ECOWAS Defence Chiefs meeting held in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
ECOWAS commission chairperson, Omar Touray, disclosed this after an extraordinary session presided over by its chairman, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The development, INSIGHT newspapers gathered, was viewed as indicating the countries’ opposition to the stance of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on the Niger Republic issue.
The meeting became necessary after ECOWAS issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Niger Republic junta who forcefully removed President Mohamed Bazoum in a coup d’état, last week.
The meeting which commenced at 12:30 pm at Defence Headquarters, Abuja, was presided by the Nigerian Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa.
The meeting was intended to host the Chiefs of Defence Staff from 15 ECOWAS countries.
Defence chiefs from Nigeria, Benin, Ghana, Benin Republic, Togo, Sierra Leone, Liberia, The Gambia, Cote D’Ivoire, Cape Verde, and Senegal were said to have attended the meeting.
INSIGHT newspapers gathered that the military leaders discussed the political situation in the Niger Republic in relation to to finding a way forward on the coup in the country.
The Committee of Defence Chiefs are deliberating on the political crisis and work towards a resolution within the 7-day ultimatum issued by the ECOWAS leadership last Sunday.
The outcome of the meeting, many believe, could either stabilise Niger or escalate tensions in the region.
ECOWAS had on Sunday during an extraordinary summit of the Authority of Heads of State and Government chaired by Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Military junta in Niger to revert to the status quo or risk consequences including a possible military action.
Meanwhile, it was gathered that France had commenced evacuation of its nationals and other European nationals on Tuesday.
As of the time of this report, at least 350 French nationals have been evacuated from Niger, the foreign ministry said.
In a statement read on Niger national television, last week, the country’s military leaders, warned against any armed intervention in the country as West African heads of state planned to gather in Abuja for the emergency summit designed to decide on further actions to pressure the army to restore constitutional order.
General Abdourahmane Tchiani – also known as Omar Tchiani, and the chief of Niger’s presidential guard – had declared himself leader while the country’s elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, was abducted by the military since the coup took place last week.
ECOWAS has the power to impose sanctions on Niger, which is one of its 15 members. Last year, its leaders agreed to create a regional security force to intervene against rebel groups and prevent military coups.
