The military leaders in Niger Republic have cautioned West African leaders against planning any armed intervention in the country.
This warning had been made after the West African leaders had made plans to gather in Abuja, Nigeria on Sunday, July 30 for an urgent summit to deliberate on the steps to take in order to pressure the army to reinstate constitutional order.
The Heads of state of the 15-member Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, together with the West African Economic and Monetary Union (consisting of eight members) could suspend Niger and cut off the country from the regional central bank and financial market, as well as close its borders.
Also expected to attend the meeting is Chad, Niger’s eastern neighbour.
This meeting could see West African leaders consider a military intervention, for the first time ever, so as to restore President Mohamed Bazoum who was overthrown when General Abdourahamane Tiani was announced the new head of state of the country on Friday, July 28.
But the military leaders in Niger had on Saturday night, issued a warning –via a statement read on national television– against any military intervention.
The statement read in part:
“The objective of the ECOWAS meeting is to endorse a plan of hostility against Niger through an impending military intervention in Niamey, together with other African countries that are not members of ECOWAS, and the concerned western countries.”
“We want to once again remind ECOWAS and every other adventurer of our firm resolve to defend our homeland,” Colonel Amadou Abdramane said.
The military had afterwards, issued another statement on Saturday night, encouraging citizens in the capital to storm the streets from 7 a.m. local time (06:00 GMT) to protest against ECOWAS’s intentions and to show their support for the new military leaders.
