President Bola Tinubu has addressed the national assembly regarding the military intervention in Niger Republic.
The letter from Tinubu, who also serves as the chairperson of ECOWAS, was read out by Godswill Akpabio, the senate president During the plenary on Friday.
Tinubu stated that the decision to deploy military force was part of the conclusions reached at the ECOWAS meeting held on Sunday in Abuja.
ECOWAS had given Niger a one-week ultimatum to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum or face more severe sanctions.
The one-week ultimatum started on Sunday.
“Following the unfortunate political situation in Niger Republic culminating in the overthrow of its president, ECOWAS under my leadership condemned the coup in its entirety and resolved to seek the return of the democratically elected government,” the letter reads.
“In a bid to restore peace, ECOWAS convened a meeting and came out with a communique.
“Closure and monitoring of all land borders with Niger Republic and reactivating of the border drilling exercise.
“Cutting off electricity supply to Niger Republic. Mobilizing international support for the implementation of the provisions of the ECOWAS communique. Preventing the operation of commercial and special flights into and from Niger Republic.
“Blockade of goods in transit to Niger especially from Lagos and eastern seaports. Embarking on sensitization of Nigeriens and Nigerians on the imperative of these actions particularly via social media.
“Military build up and deployment of personnel for military intervention to enforce compliance of the military junta in Niger should they remain recalcitrant.”
Junta Millitary cut ties with Nigerian
ECOWAS has been grappling with a democratic decline in West Africa, with member states like Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea experiencing coups in the past two years.
These countries have recently shown support for the military intervention in Niger.
Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar advised ECOWAS against resorting to “military hostilities” in Niger. He emphasized dialogue as the most viable option.
ECOWAS delegation, led by Abdulsalami Abubakar, the former military head of state, arrived in Niger’s capital, Niamey, to engage in negotiations with the country’s military junta on Wednesday.
The delegation, accompanied by Muhammadu Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto, and Alieu Touray, the president of the ECOWAS commission, only managed to meet with representatives of the junta.
In response, the Nigerien military terminated the duties of its ambassadors in four countries—Nigeria, France, the United States, and Togo—hours after the ECOWAS delegation’s arrival.