Military Action Against Niger: Int’l Group drags Tinubu to ECOWAS Court

An International Civil Group, Egalitarian Mission for Africa (EMA)  has dragged President Bola Tínubu of Nigeria before the Economic Community of West African (ECOWAS) Court of Justice, invoking the Protocols of the Court to stop the planned military action against the Republic of Niger over coup plot. The group, in the suit instituted on its behalf by a Nigerian lawyer, Dr Oluwakayode Ajulo, OON, is praying the Regional Court to invoke relevant ECOWAS treaties and international laws to stop the military invasion of Niger Republic being spearhead by the Nigerian Government. The grouse of the Civil Group, among others, is that the planned military action or invasion will run foul of the obligations in the ECOWAS treaties and therefore amounting to illegality. The suit marked ECW/CCJ/APP/3/23 emphasized categorically that ECOWAS treaties prohibit aggression among member States. Apart from the Egalitarian Mission for Africa (EMA), other plaintiffs in the matter are a former Director General of the Nigerian Institute of the Internal Affairs (NIIA), Professor Bola Akinterinwa and a Nigerian Northern Region lawyer, Hamza Nuhu Dantani. Defendants are ECOWAS, Authority of Heads of State & Government of ECOWAS, President of ECOWAS Mission,  Federal Republic of Nigeria and Republic of Niger. A military group led by General Abdourhamane Tchiani had on July 26 toppled the civilian and democratic government of President Mohammed Bazoun who has since been clamped into unlawful military detention. Although the three plaintiffs in the regional suit described the coup detat as most unfortunate, they however warned that Nigeria should not travel the dangerous road of military hostilities that may further escalate the crisis in the Niger Republic. According to them, over 300,000 refugees, mainly Nigeria citizens, have already fled the Niger Republic adding that military action against Niger Republic would lead to breach of fundermrntal rights to life, right to dignity of human persons and liberty to life. The plaintiffs therefore prayed the ECOWAS Court of Justice for a restraining order against any form of military action in Niger Republic that may undermine the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Niger Republic. Besides the Court action, the plaintiffs’ Counsel, Dr Ajulo wrote a strongly worded letter to President Tinubu, notifying him of pendency of the suit and invoking the Protocol of the ECOWAS Court on the need to respect and obey the rule of law as well as to refrain from doing that will militate against the subject matter. The letter is entitled “Notification of Pendency of case before the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice ; Call For Strict Adherence To The Protocol of the Honourable Court of the ECOWAS Commumity Court of Justice’.  It read in part “We are Counsel to the Plaintiffs/Applicants in the above case before the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice and it is on their firm and unequivocal instructions that we write. Sequel to the Resolution and several sanctions imposed by the ECOWAS in the aftermath of the unfortunate and unconstitutional takeover of the democratically elected Government of the Republic of Niger, we have lodged a Case before the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice in an application for reliefs as the proposed military intervention in the Republic of Niger would be tantamount to aggression between ECOWAS Member States. ” The intervention will specifically violate Articles 1, 5, 15, 16, 17, 21, 22 & 24 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights; Articles 1 (2), 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13 & 14 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; Articles 1, 3, 22, 23 (3), 25 (1) & 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948; Articles 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 & 10 of the Declaration on the Right to Development 1986; Articles 6, 15, 31, 63 & 64 of the Revised Treaty of the Economic Community of West African States; Article 10 of the Supplementary Protocol (A/SP.1/01/05) amending the Protocol (A/P.I/7/91) relating to the Community Court of Justice and Articles 10 (c), 22, 26, 27, 28, 56 of the ECOWAS Protocol Relating to the Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management, Resolution, Peace– Keeping and Security 1999. “The Case, an official copy of which has been duly served on your Excellency through the ECOWAS Secretariat, 101, Yakubu Gowon Crescent, Asokoro, Abuja, has invoked the jurisdiction of the International Court to consider conventions, treaties, Protocols and regulations to which your Excellency and the Federal Republic of Nigeria are signatories and which override the resolutions, sanctions, domestic law and practices and which the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice has been called upon to declare illegal. Another copy of the Case is attached for your informed action. “We wish to further draw your attention to Article 22(2) of the Protocol on the Community Court of Justice which mandates that “When a dispute is brought before the Court, Member states or institutions of the Community shall refrain from any action likely to aggravate or militate against its settlement” “In the Case before the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice, The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Authority of Heads of State and Government (of which your Excellency is the Chairman), President, ECOWAS Commission, The Federal Republic of Nigeria (of which your Excellency is the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces) have been sued as sovereign legal representatives of respective institutions including the Republic of Niger. “It is your Excellency’s sacred duty as the Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS and the President and Commander-in-Chief of Armed Forces of Federal Republic of Nigeria under your hand to bring the institution of the Case before ECOWAS Community Court of Justice to the attention of the other Defendants and to insist, particularly in your Excellences’ subsequent meetings, that the Defendants refrain from taking any action in respect of the subject matter pending the determination of the case, in view of your Excellency and Nigeria’s protocol obligation under the Article above quoted. “Your Excellency, it is our firm

Niger Crisis: Guarding our minds against information warfare and perception manipulation

When we see a sleekly produced video with subliminal political overtone like the “Yoruba” woman on a viral video showing President Tinubu sleeping in the background, making an emotional plea about the plight of Yorubas in Niger, please keep your wits about you and be vigilant and know that you are being subjected to perception manipulation by AI and deep fake. The woman who claims she is more Nigerien than a Nigerian and that she is a foreigner in Nigeria should be told to stay her butt in her native country Niger, and let the president who Nigerians have elected to take the hard decisions on our behalf to do his job. History and the electorate will hold him accountable for the outcome of his decisions. That is why he has been hired, to take all the information in his possession and the experts serving on his national security council into account, to make the hard choice. He has the intelligence report most of us do not have access to. Yes, we can exercise our civic responsibility to let him know where we stand, but international crisis management is not conducted by taking polls but by data. Don’t let us be manipulated by crass emotionalism and social media hyperventilating when it comes to the ongoing Niger crisis. We must remember that complex international issues such as a military junta in Niger, and a clientele state run by Putin’s Wagner mercenaries, with which we have no real geographical nor cultural border, represents a present, imminent and existential danger to our country. None of us is getting the security and intelligence report that is on the desk of the president in Aso Rock, so we are not in the position to know the dynamic at play in the Niger crisis. Yes, Mr. Tinubu as the president of Nigeria and the Chairman of ECOWAS is the face of the Niger crisis, but we must remember this is a crisis of dire international and geopolitical implications and there are many actors involved, including the ECOWAS, the African Union, the UN, the Western powers and of course Russia. So the notion that piling pressure on President Tinubu like many are erroneously assuming, will cause him to deviate from what intelligence report is guiding him to do, shows naïveté about the complicated dynamics of international crisis management like the contagion of military coups that is spreading and rampaging the Sahel region, and that is inching towards our homeland. They are not issues that can be resolved by the maddening appeal to emotionalism on Nigerian social media. No one wants war. However, sleeping with one’s two eyes closed when you have a raging lion at one’s doorstep is neither a smart thing to do. The Nigerian social media and especially WhatsApp, is consumed by fear mongering about impending war and dooms day prediction about how the ragtag Niger military will make a mince meat of the Nigerian military. That is nothing but an empty posturing and fear-mongering. We must realise that behind the scenes, frenetic diplomatic, economic, and political pressures are now being applied to the juntas to make them see reason. Russian propagandists have seized on this crisis to portray the Nigerien coup plotters as anti-imperialists who are seeking to liberate Niger and the entire African continent from under the yoke of France imperialism, neo-colonialism, economic servitude and exploitation. What a pile of hogwash. Would a true anti-imperial regime go to bow before and kiss Putin’s ass like the young lad leader from Burkina Faso did, when like a school boy before his dad condescendingly gave his rousing support for the Ukraine war and then begged the Russian leader, that he is willing to open Burkina Faso economy to the Russian with no strings attached? He then made the ridiculous request to Putin to come and build a nuclear plant in impoverished Burkina Faso. We all could see the flag of Russia flying all over Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso. Are those the kind of actions that a Thomas Sankara whose image all the three military leaders are invoking would take? On the contrary, by their naive posturing, it can be said that they are frankly desecrating the values that their fabled hero stood for. If anything, they are merely selling to us their selfish lust for power as the long awaited African revolution to free the continent from servitude to France and other Western powers. Record has it that the coup leader in Niger, General Tchiani has been a member of the Nigerien political class that has enjoyed the spoils of power and that have been serving the imperialists’ interest of their France overlords for decades as the head the presidential guards. He, in fact, crushed another coup against President Bazoum just days to his inauguration in 2021. Reports have it that the reason he struck with a coup was because he was about to be booted out of his position of power and influence. All of a sudden, he is now the liberator and Thomas Sankara of Africa. What a desecration of that sacred name and of the legacy of Shankara, one of the greatest leaders to walk the surface of Africa. We must remember that we are fighting on social media against information, disinformation, and propaganda warfare, and against a force that is a thousand times smarter, more nimble, and more adaptable than us. Artificial intelligence and deep fake. AI can gobble through trillion bytes or data and use it to manipulate our thought process and perception. That is what is happening with the Niger coup with the massive amount of auditory and visual information manipulation and disinformation that is coming at us like the great flood of Noah. We must guard our brains and minds against this powerful enemy that is seeking to mess with our minds and perception of reality like the woman in the sleekly produced video whose intent is to tug at our heart strings. Don’t let us

Top US diplomat meets leaders of Niger military junta

A Senior U.S. diplomat Victoria Nuland has met with senior leaders of the military junta in Niger, the U.S. State Department has said. Nuland, the acting deputy secretary of state, travelled to Niamey to meet with the armed forces’ new chief of staff, General Moussa Salaou Barmou, and three other members of the military junta. She expressed Washington’s “grave concern regarding developments in Niger and our resolute commitment to supporting democracy and constitutional order,” U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement. During the meeting Nuland outlined what was at stake if Niger did not “respect its own constitutional order,” Miller said. “This includes the potential loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in economic and security support for the people of Niger,” she highlighted. She described the more-than-two-hour conversation as “extremely frank and at times quite difficult” in a call with reporters. Nuland’s request to meet with ousted and detained President Mohamed Bazoum was denied, she said. “The United States continues to call for the immediate release of President Mohamed Bazoum, his family, and all those detained as part of the extra-constitutional attempt to seize power,” Miller said. Nuland was also not able to see new self-declared ruler Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani. Bazoum was ousted in a military coup on July 26. Tchiani, the commander of Niger’s presidential guard, then claimed power as the country’s new ruler. He and his group of officers suspended the constitution and dissolved all constitutional institutions.

Niger Coup: Tinubu didn’t ask Senate for permission to go to war- Akpabio

*Urges Tinubu, ECOWAS to exhaust all diplomatic options Senate President, Godswill Akpabio has said that President Bola Tinubu did not approach the Senate for permission to go to war in Niger over the recent coup d’etat as is been peddled in some quarters, but rather, on how best to resolve the current political impasse. Akpabio, who announced the resolutions on Saturday after a closed-door meeting which lasted for about two hours with the President Tinubu, urged him, as Chairman of ECOWAS, to encourage other ECOWAS leaders to further explore political and diplomatic options and other means towards resolving the political impasse in Niger Republic. The upper chamber also called on the ECOWAS Parliament to rise to the occasion by equally condemning the coup and also proffer solutions to resolve the impasse quickly. Niger President Mohamed Bazoum was on July 26, overthrown by his presidential guards. Akpabio said: “We discussed with President Bola Tinubu, who also doubles as the Chairman of ECOWAS and requested for support in the implementation of the resolutions of ECOWAS on the political situation in Nigeria and resolve as follows: “The leadership of the Senate is mandated to further engage with the President and Commander-in-Chief on behalf of the Senate and National Assembly on how best to resolve the issues. “This is in view of the hitherto existing cordial relationship between Nigeriens and Nigerians. “The Senate commends President Bola Tinubu and other Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS for their prompt response and the positions taken on the unfortunate development in Niger Republic. “The Senate recognises the fact that President Tinubu, by virtue of his correspondence had not asked for the approval of the parliament or approval of this Senate to go to war as is been erroneously suggested in some quarters. “Rather, Mr President and Commander-in-Chief had expressed and I quote: “I wish to respectfully solicit the support of the National Assembly in the successful implementation of the ECOWAS resolutions as outlined in the said communications.” The Senate President also said that the Senate condemned in totality the military coup that took place recently in Niger. Tinubu had in a letter to the Senate on Friday, conveyed the decisions of the ECOWAS on recent military intervention in Niger. The ECOWAS decision is contained in a letter addressed to the President of Senate and read at plenary on Friday. ”I do have the honour to inform you, that following the unfortunate political situation in Niger Republic culminating in the overthrow of the administration of His Excellency President Mohammed Bazoum on 26 July 2023. “The Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS), under my leadership condemns the coup in its entirety and resolved alongside other members of the international community to seek the return of a democratically elected government in Niger,” the letter stated.

Niger Coup: ECOWAS calls for immediate release, reinstatement of President Bazoum

Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS on Sunday in Abuja called for the immediate release and reinstatement of President Mohamed Bazoum as the legitimate Head of State and Government of the Republic of Niger. This is contained in a communique at the end of the Extraordinary Summit on Socio-Political Situation in the Republic of Niger read by the President, ECOWAS Commission, Dr Omar Touray. The leaders also rejected any form of purported resignation by Bazoum and declared him as the only recognised and elected President by ECOWAS, the African Union and the international community. ‘‘In this regard, only official acts of President Bazoum or his duly-mandated officials will be recognized by ECOWAS,’’ they said. The leaders expressed strong condemnation of the attempted overthrow of constitutional order in Niger, and the illegal detention of President Bazoum, as well as members of his family and government. They demanded full restoration of constitutional order in the Republic of Niger and considered the illegal detention of Bazoum as a hostage situation, holding the coupists solely responsible for his safety and that of his family and government. In the event the ECOWAS’ demands are not met within one week, the leaders said they would take all measures necessary to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger. “Such measures may include the use of force for this effect, the Chiefs of Defence staff of ECOWAS is to meet immediately,’’ the leaders said. ECOWAS leaders also condemned the pronouncement of support by foreign governments and foreign private military contractors, while expressing appreciation to various governments and partners for their stance and solidarity. The Summit hosted by President Bola Tinubu, in his capacity as the Chairperson of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, also agreed to appoint and dispatch a Special Representative to deliver the demands of the authority. In response to the coup attempt, the Summit announced immediate sanctions on Niger including the closure of land and air borders between ECOWAS countries and Niger. They also agree on establishing a no-fly zone on all commercial flights to and from Niger, and suspending all commercial and financial transactions between ECOWAS Member States and Niger. Furthermore, assets of the Republic of Niger in ECOWAS Central Bank, Niger state enterprises, and parastatals in commercial banks will be frozen. Niger will also be suspended from all financial assistance and transactions with financial institutions within ECOWAS. Additionally, travel bans and assets freezes were imposed on the military officials  involved in the coup attempt, as well as their family members and civilians who accept to participate in any institution or government established by these military officials. In his closing remark, Tinubu thanked fellow leaders, Moussa Faki Mahamat, the African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson, the Special Representative of the Secretary -General and Head of the United Nations Office in West Africa and the Sahel, Leonardo Simaõ, for their active engagement and invaluable contributions to the discussions. ‘‘As we come close to this Extraordinary Summit on the socio- political situation in the Republic of Niger, I send my heartfelt gratitude to each and every one of you for your active engagement in our open and closed door meeting. ‘‘Your invaluable contributions to our discussions have got us this far and hopefully, we will achieve our objective. ‘‘The essence of African unity and solidarity is hereby reaffirmed. Our unwavering commitment to democracy, peace and prosperity is hereby resolved. ‘‘Throughout our deliberations, we have recognized that the challenges faced by Niger are inter connected with broader issues affecting our region. ‘‘As African leaders, it is our shared responsibility to foster stability and progress, placing the wellbeing of our people at the forefront of our endeavours, and working together towards their prosperity and happiness must always consistently be our goals. ‘‘We will stand with our people in freedom and our commitment to the rule of law and not the barrel of gun. Africa has come of age. We reject coup and interruption to constitutional order,’’ he said. Before the Summit, the President also held bilateral meetings with President Umaro Embalo of Guinea Bissau, President Mahmat Itno of Chad, and Michael Health, the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of African Affairs. Presidents Patrice Talon of Benin Republic,  Alassane Ouattara of Cote d’Ivoire, Adama Barrow of The Gambia, Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana, Embalo of Guinea Bissau, Macky Sall of Senegal, Faure Gnassingbé of Togo attended the Summit while the Presidents of Cape Verde, Liberia, Niger and  Sierra Leone were represented.

ECOWAS solidly behind Nigeria’s policies, says President Embalo

The Economic Commission for West African States (ECOWAS) says it is in support of President Bola Tinubu’s efforts aimed at repositioning Nigeria as the true giant of Africa. President of Guinea- Buissau and Chairman Authority ECOWAS Head of State and Government, Umaro Sissoco Embalo, said this during a private visit to Tinubu on Saturday in Lagos. He said that the economic steps so far taken would not only be for the good of Nigeria but the entire West African sub-region. Addressing newsmen after the visit, Special Adviser, Special Duties, Communications and Strategy to the President, Mr. Dele Alake said the visit was strictly private. “It was a meeting between two African brother-presidents and it was very cordial. Of course, the visiting president appreciated the steps taken by President Bola Tinubu within the last month. “He said he is ready to cooperate with Nigeria and President Bola Tinubu at all times just as the rest of the world have commended him over his recent policies. “They also spoke of the ECOWAS head of government meeting which is imminently coming up and also spoke on other areas of cooperation,” he said. The meeting was attended by Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos, Dele Alake, among others. The Guinea-Bissau leader has left after the over three hours private meeting.

Mpox no longer public health emergency, says WHO

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared that the multi-country outbreak of the Mpox virus, which began around a year ago was no longer a public health emergency of international concern. WHO Director General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, said this while speaking to journalists in Geneva, a day after the emergency committee which made the emergency recommendation last July, advised the Director-General to declare it over. “However, as with COVID-19, that does not mean that the work is over. Mpox continues to pose significant public health challenges that need a robust, proactive and sustainable response,” Ghebreyesus said. He said there had been more than 87,000 cases, and 140 deaths worldwide reported to WHO, from 111 different countries. The virus, originally known as Monkey Pox, spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids and causes flu-like symptoms, and also pus-filled lesions on the skin. Last July, it was spreading rapidly, but he said WHO “has been very encouraged by the rapid response of countries. We now see steady progress in controlling the outbreak based on the lessons of HIV and working closely with the most affected communities.” Some 90 per cent fewer cases were reported in the past three months, compared with the previous three. From the beginning of the international outbreak of the disease, which has been in circulation since 1970, and occurred primarily in tropical rainforest areas of Central and West Africa, WHO stressed that most of those infected, recover without treatment in just a few weeks. He praised the work of community groups, and public health authorities. “For informing people of the risks of mpox, encouraging and supporting behaviour change, and advocating for access to tests, vaccines and treatments to be accessible to those in need.’’ Cases of the virus were concentrated among men who have sex with men, especially those with multiple sexual partners. Ghebreyesus noted that while stigma has been a driving concern in managing the mpox epidemic, and continues to hamper access to care, “the feared backlash against the most affected communities has largely not materialised. For that, we are thankful.” He said that inspite of the downward trend in cases, the virus was continuing to impact all regions, including Africa, where the transmission “is still not well understood.” There is a particular risk associated with those living with untreated HIV infections, he added, urging countries to keep testing capacity and be ready to respond promptly if cases rise again. “Integration of mpox prevention and care into existing health programmes is recommended, to allow continued access to care, and rapid response to address future outbreaks.” WHO will continue to work towards supporting access to countermeasures as more information on effectiveness of interventions becomes available. “While the emergencies of mpox and COVID-19 are both over, the threat of resurgent waves remain for both,” Ghebreyesus said. “Both viruses continue to circulate, and both continue to kill. And while two public health emergencies have ended in the past week, every day WHO continue to respond to more than 50 emergencies globally.” Ghebreyesus said that as the UN approached the upcoming World Health Assembly and three-level meetings on pandemic preparedness, tuberculosis and universal health coverage, there were many challenges ahead, but also unprecedented opportunities. “If real commitments can be made, then real benefits could result, “for generations to come.” Each meeting will be an opportunity to catalyse political commitment to drive progress, and to generate concrete action and financial resources. “To invest in expanding access to prevention, testing, treatment, vaccines and research for TB. “To strengthen the world’s defences against pandemics; and to strengthen health systems, especially primary healthcare, so that no one misses out on the care they need because of who they are, where they live or how much they earn,” Ghebreyesus said.