Leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have reconvened in Abuja to discuss the crisis in Niger Republic.
The Cable paper reported that, ECOWAS had said it would meet again on Thursday after the military junta in Niger defied a Sunday deadline on the reinstatement of ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.
Concerns about a potential military action by the bloc to reestablish democracy in Niger are present at the summit.
The head of ECOWAS, President Bola Tinubu, had committed to take all necessary steps to get Bazoum back.
The regional body’s intention to employ force, even as a last resort, has drawn criticism from other foreign nations, international organizations, and worried citizens.
Before the meeting today, Tinubu gave the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) the order to implement financial sanctions on people and organizations that he believed were aiding the military junta in the francophone nation.
The names of those subject to the sanctions and others who were affected were kept secret.
Other sanctions against Niger to date have included the closure of all land and air borders, the imposition of an ECOWAS “no fly zone” over all commercial flights into and out of Niger, the suspension of all business and financial dealings between ECOWAS member states and Niger, and the cessation of electricity supplies to the landlocked nation in Western Africa.
The Niger Republic needs to return to democratic government, according to Ajuri Ngelale, Tinubu’s special assistant on media and publicity. She said that military action was not ruled out.
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