Niger: ECOWAS plans fresh sanctions on Burkina Faso, Mali, UN talks fail
ECOWAS leaders meet Thursday after botched AU, UN, US planned visit to Niamey
•Over 100,000 IDPs stranded in Niger, businesses
grounded in Sokoto, Katsina borders
The Economic Community of West African States has imposed heavier financial sanctions on the Niger junta and entities supporting them including the governments of Mali and Burkina Faso.
The development came after a diplomatic mission by the
African Union, ECOWAS, United Nations and the United States to resolve the
political impasse in Niger hit a brick wall on Tuesday as the military junta
refused to grant audience to the delegations.
The military leaders also snubbed the Acting US Deputy
Secretary of State, Victoria Nuland, and denied her access to the coup leader,
Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani and ousted President, Muhammed Bazoum, who was being
held in the presidential palace.
Some military officers led by Tchiani overthrew Bazoum on
July 26 leading to a flurry of sanctions imposed on Niger by ECOWAS to compel
them to restore the ousted president to power.
On Tuesday, presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, told
journalists in Abuja that more sanctions had been imposed on the individuals
and entities relating with the military junta.
The joint AU, ECOWAS and UN delegation planned a trip to
Niamey to negotiate with the junta ahead of the Thursday summit of ECOWAS but
the military officers denied permission to enter Niger to the delegation,
according to a letter circulated on social media whose authenticity was
confirmed by a Niger army spokesman.
Announcing the latest round of sanctions in Abuja on
Tuesday, Ngelale said the latest prohibition was targeted at individuals and
entities relating with the military junta in Niger Republic.
Although he did not go into details, he said the
restriction was carried out through the Central Bank of Nigeria.
He stated, “I can also report that following the
expiration of the deadline of the ultimatum and standing on the pre-existing
consensus position of financial sanctions meted out on the military junta in
Niger Republic by the bloc of ECOWAS Heads of State, President Bola Tinubu has
ordered an additional slew of financial sanctions through the Central Bank of
Nigeria on entities and individuals related to or involved with the military
junta in Niger Republic.
“The ECOWAS mandate and ultimatum is not a Nigerian
ultimatum. It is not a Nigerian mandate and the office of the President, also
serving as the chairman of ECOWAS, seeks to emphasise this point that due to
certain domestic and international media coverage, tending toward
personalisation of the ECOWAS sub-regional position to his person and our
nation individually.
“It is because of this that Mr President has deemed it
necessary to state unequivocally that the mandate and ultimatum issued by
ECOWAS is that of ECOWAS position. While President Bola Tinubu has assumed the
ECOWAS chairmanship, the position of ECOWAS conveys the consensus position of
member Heads of State. And a coup will not occur in one’s backyard, without one
being particularly aware of it.”
The fresh sanctions by ECOWAS on the Niger Republic apply to
Mali and Burkina Faso, a presidency source revealed to The PUNCH on Tuesday.
“They (Burkina Faso and Mali) are included in the ECOWAS
sanction. It affects any and every entity that is doing business with the Niger
Republic. There is no hidden meaning to that, it’s clear,” the source who
didn’t want to be mentioned told our correspondent.
Meanwhile, Ngelale explained that Tinubu had consulted
extensively in the past few days following the expiration of the one-week
ultimatum issued to the junta to hand over power to
the deposed president.
He added, “The President in recent days, particularly
following the expiration of the ultimatum given by ECOWAS, has widened
consultations internationally but most especially domestically, including
interfaces with state governors in Nigeria, who govern states bordering Niger
Republic on the various fallouts and outcomes of the unfortunate situation that
has unfolded in Niger Republic.
“But President Bola Tinubu wishes to emphasise to this
distinguished audience that the response of ECOWAS to the military coup in
Niger has been and will remain devoid of ethnic and religious sentiments and
considerations.
“The regional bloc is made up of all sub-regional
ethnic groups, religious groups, and all other forms of human diversity. And
the response of ECOWAS, therefore, represents all of these groups, and not any
of these groups individually.”
Intervention snubbed
Reuters reports that the letter said popular anger among
Niger’s citizens over sanctions imposed by ECOWAS in response to the coup made
it impossible to host the envoys safely and denounced “a climate of threatened
aggression against Niger.”
An AU spokesperson confirmed that the mission had been
denied access, while ECOWAS declined to comment.
The junta had already snubbed meetings with a senior US
envoy and another ECOWAS delegation.
Niger is the world’s seventh-biggest producer of uranium,
the most widely used fuel for nuclear energy, adding to its strategic
importance.
The UN said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres
strongly supported mediation efforts by ECOWAS, while US Secretary of State
Antony Blinken told French radio station RFI that diplomacy was the best way to
resolve the situation.
He declined to comment on the future of some 1,100 US troops
in Niger, where French, German and Italian troops are also stationed.
Blinken later told the BBC he was worried that Russia’s
Wagner mercenaries were taking advantage of the instability in Niger to
strengthen their presence in the Sahel.
“I think what happened and what continues to happen in Niger
was not instigated by Russia or by Wagner, but they tried to take advantage of
it,” he was quoted as saying by the BBC.
Western allies fear that Niger could go the way of
Mali, which threw out French troops and UN peacekeepers and invited in
mercenaries from the Wagner group after a 2021 coup.
“Every single place that this Wagner group has gone, death,
destruction and exploitation have followed,” Blinken told the BBC.
Nuland, who was denied permission to meet both Tchiani and
Bazoum in Niamey, told reporters her talks with more junior officers were
“frank and difficult” and they had shown little interest in exploring ways to
restore democratic order.
Last week, ECOWAS sent a mission to Niamey led by former
President Abdulsalami Abubakar, but the coup leaders also refused to see him.
In contrast, Tchiani on Monday met a joint delegation from
Mali and Burkina Faso, both neighbouring countries where the military has
seized power from civilians. The juntas there have pledged support for the coup
in Niger.
Alongside the Malian army, fighters presumed to be from Wagner
have reportedly carried out a brutal military offensive, executing hundreds of
civilians last year, witnesses and rights groups say, charges the army and
Wagner denied.
In a new report seen by Reuters on Monday, UN sanctions
monitors said they had also used a campaign of sexual violence and other grave
human rights abuses to terrorise the population.
However, in furtherance of its resolution, the ECOWAS under
the leadership of President Bola Tinubu has imposed fresh sanctions on the
junta in Niger.
The regional bloc had earlier given the coupists seven days
to reinstate President Bazoum or risk sanctions, including possible military
action.
But they called the bluff of ECOWAS and vowed to resist any
foreign intervention on their soil.
They further severed ties with Nigeria, Togo, France and the
US, and shut down Nigerien airspace indefinitely.
At the end of the ultimatum, the bloc scheduled a meeting
for Thursday to review the situation in the West African nation.
IDPs stranded
Meanwhile, the political situation in Niger has thrown
Nigerian refugees in that country into anguish and confusion due to alleged
hostilities from their hosts and the hardships resulting from the coup.
Some of the refugees were forced to relocate to Niger from
the four northernmost local government areas of Borno State due to the security
situation in their communities.
Despite the repatriation of thousands of refugees ahead of
the 2023 elections and the postponed census, there are well over 100,000
displaced Nigerians in Diffa and Bosso communities of the Niger Republic,
according to the Borno State Emergency Management Agency officials
Before the latest coup in that country, the refugees had
been enjoying the hospitality of their hosts who, reportedly, leased out farms
to them to grow crops.
Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, was said to have
distributed basic supplies to the refugees in Diffa some time ago.
“Our hosts, especially those sympathetic to the coupists,
are now hostile to us,” Abdulsalami Ali, a repatriated refugee at Damasak,
Borno State, whose family members are refugees in Niger, alleged in a phone
chat with The PUNCH.
He noted, “They are angry with Nigerians because of our
country’s stance on war with their country over what they say is entirely an
affair concerning Niger.
“Now, our relations there are in danger should such
hostilities continue and they dare not return home partly because the borders
between the two countries have been closed and partly because the coast at home
is still not clear with the insurgents still in control of our ancestral
communities and unleashing terror.”
Hassan Maina, who stays in the Internally Displaced Persons
camp in Damask, explained that all his relations are in Bosso in Niger.
He stated, “Our relations daily complained to us that life
is becoming unbearable there (Niger Republic) due to the rising cost of
essential items following the closure of the border because virtually all goods
sold across the border communities of Niger come from Nigeria.
“So, hardship is mounting on Nigerian refugees, and our
ancestral communities (Abadam and Marte LGAs) are not secure due to terror
attacks by Boko Haram. However much we want to return home, the military has to
issue the clearance to Nigeria and Niger that sufficient security has been
restored for our return.”
As the ECOWAS meets on Thursday to weigh the possibility of
a military intervention in Niger and other options, residents of the Illela
community in Illela Local Government Area of Sokoto State, have clarified that
the deployment of troops in the area was meant to combat bandits and
terrorists.
A resident, Nuhu Ibrahim, affirmed that the deployment of
security personnel within the town was for security reasons.
“I am sure you are aware that here in Illela, we have been
battling with security issues due to the consistent attacks from bandits on our
people. I am sure the recent security deployment to this place is meant for
that purpose and not for any purpose. I can tell you that as of today, there is
no movement of security personnel to the border area in Illela” he added.
Also speaking, a commercial motorcyclist, Haruna Yakubu,
said Illela town is calm, adding that the people of the state have nothing to
fear as both residents of Illela community in Sokoto and the neighbouring Kwani
town in Niger Republic still relate like one family.
“We have nothing to fear at all as we are still relating
with our brothers and sisters in Kwani town without any rancour whatsoever,” he
explained.
Meanwhile, the Arewa Consultative Forum has urged the
President to lift all sanctions and restrictions imposed on the Niger Republic
following the overthrow of the civilian government by the military junta in
that country.
The forum also called for more dialogue with the military
junta to prevent a further breakdown of talks following the expiration of the
one-week ultimatum handed down by the ECOWAS member states.
The ACF through its Publicity Secretary, Prof Tukur
Muhammad-Baba, in a statement in Kaduna on Tuesday, said any attempt to invade
Niger Republic would be met with strong opposition from neighbouring countries
under military governments.
The ACF in the statement, said, “The Arewa Consultative
Forum is calling for the lifting of sanctions against the Niger Republic by
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Economic Community of West African States.
“It is also seeking more dialogue with the military junta to
prevent a further breakdown of talks following the expiration of the one-week
deadline earlier given to the regime to restore democratic rule in the country.
“The ACF urges President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and ECOWAS to
review the situation and restore full dialogue with the Nigerien military junta
through the immediate lifting of the economic blockade and other sanctions
imposed on the country as a sign of goodwill to facilitate swift dialogue.
“We call on President Tinubu and ECOWAS to revisit their
approach to the Niger imbroglio based on concrete realities including the fact
that most countries surrounding Niger Republic are not all in the ECOWAS region
as Algeria, Libya and Chad may view a potential military aggression as a
declaration of war against their borders.
“With Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinean military juntas also
declaring support for the Niger coup leaders, the situation calls for caution
so as not to further conflagrate the West African region.’’
The ACF commended the Northern Senators Forum for supporting
their colleagues in the Senate to reject the use of force against the junta in
Niger.
It added, “We strongly call on our government to intensify
efforts towards further exploitation of peaceful, political and diplomatic
measures to find a solution to the problem. As such, we want the Nigerian
government to immediately restore the supply of electricity to the Niger
Republic.”
The organization also urged the President to reopen borders
with the Niger Republic and allow the free flow of people and goods into and
from that country to Nigeria.
“We at the ACF would like to reiterate our condemnation of
the coup and demand that the personal safety of President Mohamed Bazoum and
members of his government be guaranteed by the coup leaders,” the statement
added.
Appraising the expected cost of military intervention in
Niger, the Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private
Enterprise, Dr Muda Yusuf, has said that any military operation by Nigeria may
cost about $2bn annually.
According to him, although ECOWAS’ decision to pressure the
military junta in Niger to restore constitutional democracy in that country is
a welcome development, there is a need for caution.
He said, “Any contemplation of military intervention should
take into account the wider social, economic, welfare and security implications
for the countries of the sub-region and their citizens.
“There are far-reaching macroeconomic, trade and security
and geopolitical ramifications which should be carefully considered. The risk
of high collateral damage is also very high.”
He added that any military intervention would affect both
regional trade and security.
The CPPE boss further noted that the financial cost of a
military campaign could be quite staggering and unpredictable.
The statement read, “The lesson here is that the cost of
military interventions can be very prohibitive. Similar military operations at
this time may cost considerably higher, given the inflationary trend over the
past 25 years.
“At the very minimum, it would cost Nigeria a minimum of
$2bn annually to prosecute a military operation in Niger, taking into account
the prevailing geopolitical dynamics in the Sahel.
“It will be difficult to accommodate such a huge financial
commitment at this time without putting a serious strain on our fiscal
operations and foreign reserves.’’
Yusuf also said that if Nigeria decides to go ahead with a
military campaign in Niger, the defence spending may have to increase
substantially, possibly by 100 per cent or more, with over 70 per cent of the
spending in foreign exchange.
“This is a defining moment for ECOWAS, which calls for rigorous
thinking, robust consultation, sound diplomatic judgment, a deep sense of
history and an exhaustive evaluation of the many ramifications,” he advised.
In a late night statement on Tuesday, the ECOWAS said
it did not go to Niamey as reported by the media.
The statement said, “This is to inform that the ECOWAS-AU-UN
Mission to the
Republic of Niger did not take place on Tuesday, 8 August
2023.
“The mission was aborted following a late-night
communication from the military authorities in Niger indicating their
unavailability to receive the tripartite delegation.
“The planned mission was part of the continued efforts to
find a peaceful resolution to the current crisis in Niger.
As per the decision of the ECOWAS Extraordinary Summit held
on 30 July 2023, the C
community will continue to deploy all measures in order to
restore constitutional order in Niger.
As per the decision of the ECOWAS Extraordinary Summit held
on 30 July 2023, the C
community will continue to deploy all measures in order to
restore constitutional order in Niger.
Post a Comment