The leaders of the Economic Community of West African States
(ECOWAS) will reconvene on Thursday to discuss the crisis in Niger Republic.
ECOWAS made the announcement on Monday — a day after its
deadline to the military junta in Niger to reinstate the ousted President
Mohamed Bazoum.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, President of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria and chairman of the authority of Heads of state and
Government of the Economic Community of the ECOWAS leaders will be considering
and discussing the political situation and recent developments in Niger during
the summit,” the organisation said in a statement on Monday.
The summit will hold in Abuja, the ECOWAS headquarters.
The meeting comes amid uncertainty about the bloc’s possible
military military intervention to restore democracy in Niger.
Tinubu, the ECOWAS chairperson, had vowed to do everything
possible to reinstate the ousted Bazoum.
However, the regional body’s resolve to use force, even as a
last option, has been met with heavy backlash from other foreign countries,
global organisations, and concerned individuals.
Analysts say any military invasion by ECOWAS into Niger
would snowball into a full-scale war especially as Burkina Faso and Mali had
backed the coup.
Burkina Faso and Mali have warned that they would take up arms
in self-defence if there are any foreign interventions in the landlocked West
African country.
As the deadline approached on Sunday, thousands of
supporters of the military junta in Niger gathered at a stadium to show support
for the regime.
The Northern Senators Forum (NSF) had asked Tinubu to
exhaust all diplomatic means in resolving the crisis in Niger.
The forum warned that deploying Nigerian troops to the Niger
Republic will hurt seven northern states —Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina, Zamfara,
Jigawa, Yobe and Borno — sharing borders with the country.
Recall that the president met with governors of five of the
states that share boundaries with Niger as part of wider consultations on the
political instability in Niger.
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