Coup: Niger Republic’s junta adamant, cuts off ties with Nigeria, France, others

The military junta in Niger Republic.on Friday cut off ties with Nigeria, France, and other countries after the peace talks by delegates sent by the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) and the junta failed.

According to a report on Friday by Radio France International, the delegation from the ECOWAS arrived in Niamey with the aim of establishing a dialogue with the junta in order to obtain the return to constitutional order.

Persecondnews recalls that in an attempt to resolve the political crisis in the Niger Republic, the ECOWAS had on Thursday dispatched two missions to the country with the mandate to achieving a resolution to end the illegitimate government.

While the first delegation led by former Nigerian Head of State, retired Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar had engagement with the coupists and other parties in the Nigerien impasse in the country’s capital, Niamey, another delegation led by Ambassador Babagana Kingibe also engaged with the leaders of Libya and Algeria concerning the Niger crisis.

Persecondnews reports that prior to this development, President Bola Tinubu, who is the Chairman of the ECOWAS, had met with some fellow ECOWAS leaders to discuss appropriate ways to restore democracy in Niger.

The leaders of the West African regional bloc met to discuss sanctions to be placed against the military personnel who overthrew the Niger President, Mohamed Bazoum, on July 26, 2023.

In a bid to sanction the military coup, Tinubu ordered power supply cut from Nigeria to Niger on Wednesday, August 3.

In a similar development, France and the United States, two allies of President Bazoum, also imposed sanctions on Niger by suspending financial and commercial transactions and freezing the assets of the coupists.

France, on Friday, also rejected the Niger junta’s move to scrap bilateral military pacts, saying the only West African country’s “legitimate” leadership alone is entitled to do so.

“The legal framework of France’s defence agreement with Niger is based on accords that were signed with the legitimate Nigerien authorities,” the foreign ministry said after the junta in Niamey said it was cancelling military cooperation agreements with Paris.