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Military war imminent in Niger, as ECOWAS readies soldiers to oust junta
West Africa’s regional bloc on Wednesday said a military intervention in junta-ruled Niger was “the last resort” as Nigeria cut electricity supplies to intensify pressure on the country’s coup leaders.
As ex-colonial power France sent in a fifth plane to evacuate its citizens, coup leader General Abdourahamane Tiani insisted they had no reason to quit the country.
Joining the departures, the United States ordered a partial evacuation of its embassy in Niamey.
West African military chiefs were meeting in Nigeria’s capital Abuja to frame a response while a delegation was in Niger for negotiations, a week after the coup that shook the fragile nation.
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) leaders on Sunday imposed trade and financial sanctions, giving the coup leaders a week to reinstate Niger’s democratically elected president or face the possible use of force.
“(The) military option is the very last option on the table, the last resort, but we have to prepare for the eventuality,” said Abdel-Fatau Musah, ECOWAS commissioner for political affairs, peace and security.
An ECOWAS team headed by former Nigerian leader Abdulsalami Abubakar was in Niger for talks, he added at the start of a three-day meeting of the grouping’s military chiefs in Abuja.
West Africa’s pre-eminent military and economic power Nigeria, the current chair of ECOWAS, has vowed a firm line against coups that have proliferated across the region since 2020.
A source in Niger’s power company, Nigelec, said Nigeria had cut electricity to its neighbour as a result of the sanctions.
Niger, one of the world’s poorest countries, depends on Nigeria for 70 percent of its power.
Junta-ruled Mali and Burkina Faso have warned any military intervention in their neighbour would be tantamount to a “declaration of war” against them.
General Salifou Mody, one of the Niger coup leaders, arrived with a delegation in Mali’s capital Bamako on Wednesday. In an interview broadcast on Malian state television that evening, he stressed the need for cooperation between the two countries.
Russia on Wednesday called for “urgent national dialogue” in Niger and warned that threats of intervention “will not help ease tensions or calm the domestic situation.”
Later Wednesday, the World Bank became the latest international organisation to announce it was suspending aid to Niger “other than private sector partnerships”.
President Mohamed Bazoum, 63, was feted in 2021 after winning elections that ushered in Niger’s first-ever peaceful transition of power.
He took the helm of a country burdened by four previous coups since independence from France in 1960.
But after surviving two attempted putsches, Bazoum was overthrown on July 26 when members of his own guard detained him at the presidency.
Their commander, General Tiani, has declared himself leader, but his claim has been condemned internationally.
France organised evacuation flights from Niamey following hostile demonstrations at the weekend.
But in a televised address Wednesday, Tiani said French nationals had nothing to fear, insisting they had never been subject “to the least threat”.
He rejected the international sanctions imposed in response to the coup, saying he “refused to give in to any threat”.
By Wednesday, French planes had evacuated 992 people, 560 of them French citizens, said Paris.
The same day, the US State Department “ordered the departure of non-emergency U.S. government employees and eligible family members from Embassy Niamey”, it said in a statement.
Italy’s foreign ministry said it had evacuated 68 civilians, including Italians and other nationals living in Niger, who arrived in Rome early Wednesday.
Eighteen Italian soldiers were also on the flight.
Germany has urged its citizens to leave, but the United States — which has 1,100 troops stationed in Niger — has opted to not evacuate Americans for now.
Under Bazoum and his predecessor Mahamadou Issoufou, Niger has had a key role in French and Western strategies to combat a jihadist insurgency that has rampaged across the Sahel since 2012.
After joining a regional revolt in northern Mali, armed Islamists advanced into Niger and Burkina Faso in 2015 and now carry out sporadic attacks on fragile states on the Gulf of Guinea.
Countless civilians, troops and police have been killed across the region, while around 2.2 million people in Burkina Faso alone have fled their homes.
The impact has contributed to army takeovers in all three Sahel countries and inflicted devastating damage to economies at the very bottom of the world’s wealth table.
France’s anti-jihadist Burkina Faso mission had at its peak about 5,400 troops, supported by fighter jets, helicopters and drones.
But the mission was refocused on Niger last year, when France pulled out of Mali and Burkina Faso after falling out with their juntas.
Today, the reconfigured force has around 1,500 men, many of them deployed at an air base near Niamey.
“It demonstrates, in the clearest possible terms, that when citizens act with unity, clarity of purpose, and resolve, they can indeed move mountains.”
These were the exact words with which the African Democratic Congress (ADC), reacted to Tuesday’s agreement of the 10th Senate to reverse the controversial provisions in the Electoral Amendment Bill, in which they earlier retained the discretionary provision of transmission of results of election electronically by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Bolaji Abdullahi, spokesman of the coalition party, attributing the U-turn to the resilience of Nigerians, described the development as a victory for democracy and people-powered civic action.
Abdullahi, a former Minister, who called on Nigerians to stay alert and continue mounting pressure on relevant authorities until the amended bill secures presidential assent, is duly gazetted, and takes full legal effect, urged Nigerians to maintain eternal vigilance.
Following a groundswell of outrage across the country, regarding its initial decision to retain the 2022 provision and subsequent protests, which saw Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party in 2023 and Rotimi Amaechi, former Governor Rivers State, teaming up with a group of Nigerians on Monday and Tuesday, respectively, the Senate eventually bowed to pressure mandating the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to transmit elections to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV), real time, but with a proviso to use manual collation only as a contingency in cases of technological failure.
Hailing the development, ADC stated that the recant by the lawmakers was beyond a simple legislative reversal, but a reflection of the resilience, alertness, and growing political awareness of Nigerians from all segments of society.
The statement, added: “The decision of the 10th Senate to urgently reverse the contentious provisions of the Electoral Amendment Bill that it passed is a significant victory for the Nigerian people.
“This outcome is not merely a legislative U-turn. It is a testament to the resilience, vigilance, and rising political consciousness of Nigerians across all walks of life. From street protests to digital campaigns, the Nigerian people have once again shown that sovereignty truly belongs to them.
“In the face of the ruling APC’s habitual disregard for due process and democratic values, the Nigerian people have reaffirmed their place as the ultimate custodians of our democracy.
“In this regard, the African Democratic Congress salutes the courage and tenacity of Nigerians. We commend every citizen who raised their voice, whether online or offline, to resist legislative mischief that threatened to undermine our electoral integrity.”
Calling on Nigerians to remain steadfast, stressing that the development represents only a step in the right direction, not the final victory, the party, added: “We must now ensure that this momentum is sustained until the amended bill is not only passed but duly assented to by the President, properly gazetted, and becomes an enforceable law of the Federal Republic.
“We must remain vigilant to ensure there are no last-minute betrayals or technical ambiguities, the kind that often lead to ‘stories that touch.’ Let this be a reminder that democracy does not thrive in silence or indifference. It demands participation, persistence, and sometimes, peaceful defiance.”
Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), on Tuesday, confirmed that President Bola Tinubu has once again intervened to stem the political schism between the Rivers State House of Assembly and Siminalayi Fubara, the governor that would have led to the latter’s impeachment.
But the Minister, left a caveat – this is the last time the President would be making such an intervention – as he added that both sides would now have to work according to the terms agreed at the parley.
In the latest faceoff which started early in the year, 27 members of the assembly said to be loyal to Wike, had launched a fresh impeachment move against the governor – the third since he took office in 2023, accusing him of sundry infractions of the constitution including spending money without appropriation.
Fubara, who defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC), last year, was believed to have run to the President for succour, whose intervention is believed to have halted the move.
Giving details of the rapprochement, Wike told reporters in Abuja, on Tuesday that the President playing a fatherly role stepped in to resolve disputes between the two parties.
His words: “He is very kind to the people of the state. If there seems to be any problem between the legislature and the governor, as a father, he really has to intervene.
“This is the second time Mr President is intervening and I believe by the grace of God that this will be the last time Mr President will intervene.”
Wike, who has since been linked to the crises from the outset and in firm grips of the lawmakers, also pointed out his own role in the matter, saying: “I have told them to obey Mr President and I know that they would not hesitate.”
President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday finally sent the name of Usman Isa Dakingari, former Governor of Kebbi State to the Senate for confirmation as as a non-career ambassador after last month’s embarrassing mix-up in which his name suddenly appeared for posting to Turkey without legislative clearance.
Tinubu, in a correspondence conveying the appointment, which was read by Godswill Akpabio, said: “I write for confirmation by the Senate, the appointment of Usman Isa Dakingari as non-career ambassador,.
“Whilst I hope that the senate will consider and confirm the nominee expeditiously, please accept, distinguished senate president, the assurances of my highest consideration.”
After reading the letter at plenary, the Senate President, said the matter would be referred to the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs for consideration and report back to the Committee of Whole within one week.
Electoral Act: Don’t go to sleep, maintain eternal vigilance, ADC tells Nigerians
This is the last time Tinubu will intervene in Rivers’ row – Wike
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