Staff Writer
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) issued a statement on Tuesday evening announcing that the chiefs of staff of the member nations will be convening in Abuja from Wednesday to Friday to discuss the coup in Niger.
West African leaders convened for an emergency summit on Sunday in the capital of Nigeria. They denounced the coup and handed the coup’s organizers one week to restore ousted President Mohamed Bazoum to office while reserving the option of using force if necessary.
Thus, she had notified the upcoming gathering of the chiefs of staff from the participating nations. A delegate would be appointed soon and sent to Niger to present the leaders’ requests, the leaders had also stated.
On condition of anonymity, a senior official from ECOWAS and a military officer from Niger claimed that a group from the West African organization, led by former Nigerian President Abdulsalami Abubakar, is also scheduled to visit Niger on Wednesday.
The military-run neighbors of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali, expressed their support for the putschists on Monday night by stating that any military action to reinstate Mohamed Bazoum would be viewed as “a declaration of war” on their two nations. It would result in their expulsion from ECOWAS “as well as the adoption of measures of self-defense in support of the Niger armed forces and people.”
In a joint statement, they also stated that they “refuse to apply” the “illegal, illegitimate, and inhuman sanctions against the people and the authorities of Niger” that had also been adopted on Sunday by ECOWAS in Abuja.
