The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), says that it will not hesitate to invade Niger Republic if all efforts to reverse the coup in the country fail.
TheHintsNews reports that ECOWAS Heads of State and Government had at its second extraordinary summit in Abuja last week, activated its standing force should the junta in Niger refuse to restore to power the ousted president of the country, Mohamed Bazoum.
However, the regional body gave the warning on Thursday in Accra, Ghana, insisting that constitutional means would be restored in the country by all means.
Also, the defence chiefs of member states met in the Ghanaian capital to strategise on the next line of action on Niger and discuss details of the standby force. The meeting continues today.
Speaking, ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Abdel-Fatau Musah, listed past ECOWAS deployments in Sierra Leone, Liberia and elsewhere as examples of readiness for military action.
He denied the allegations that ECOWAS was being manipulated by France or any other outside power.
His words: “Let no one be in doubt that if everything else fails, the valiant forces of West Africa…are ready to answer to the call of duty. By all means available, constitutional order will be restored in the country,”
“What they forget is that ECOWAS is a rules-based organisation. We have our protocols, we have our norms and we are ready to protect them.
“That’s why the Heads of State are saying if push comes to shove, we are going into Niger with our own contingents, our own equipment and our own resources to make sure we restore constitutional order. If other democracy-loving partners want to support us, they are welcome,” he said.
Musah accused the Niger coup leaders of “playing cat-and-mouse” with ECOWAS by refusing to meet with its envoys and seeking justifications for their takeover of power.
He noted that most of the bloc’s 15 member states are prepared to participate in the standby force that could intervene in Niger, adding that the exceptions are those also under military rule, including Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea and tiny Cape Verde.