US warns Nigerien coup plotters as AU, Ecowas react
Wednesday July 26 2023
Supporters of President Mohamed Bazoum gather to show their support for him in Niamey, Niger on July 26, 2023. PHOTO | AFP
The US on Wednesday called on the military in Niger to immediately release President Mohamed Bazoum just as Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), the West African bloc, dispatched special envoys to broker peace.
Niger on Wednesday became the latest former French colony, after Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso, to experience a possible unconstitutional change in government.
World leaders, including those in Nigerien neighbourhood rushed to forestall the political calamity by condemning the coup.
The US called on the military which was on Wednesday night still holding President Bazoum to respect the rule of law and public order.
Presidential Guards took over the Presidential palace and detained Bazoum inside in Niamey, capital of Niger.
Read: Presidency sealed off in coup-prone Niger
Civilian supporters of Bazoum who have been milling around the presidential palace in solidarity with him were being dispersed by the soldiers who intermittently fired shots into the air. This is the second attempt since March 2022 by the military to dispatch President Bazoum.
Matthew Miller, Spokesperson of US Department of State, issued a rallying call against the coup as Benin President Patrice Talon met with Nigerian President Bola Tinubu to seek immediate solution to the impasse.
“We strongly support the democratically elected Nigerien President Bazoum and condemn in the strongest terms any effort to seize power by force and disrupt the constitutional order. We echo the strong condemnation of today’s action by the Ecowas and monitoring the situation in close communication with the US Embassy in Niamey,’’ Miller said.
Tinubu, the current chairman of Ecowas, said he had already sent a delegation to intercede and stop the coup which would have been the fifth and after many failed ones, since Niger gained independence from France in 1960.
The delegation left Abuja for Niamey.
Ecowas has warned that it would not tolerate the overthrowing of Bazoum, who had survived a coup attempt in March 2021.
Read: ‘Ecowas leaders lack moral authority to condemn coups, uphold governance laws’
Tinubu warned on Wednesday that the bloc would not take kindly to military intervention.
“The Ecowas leadership will not accept any action that impedes the smooth functioning of legitimate authority in Niger or any part of West Africa. We are closely monitoring the developments in Niger, and we will do everything within our powers to ensure democracy is firmly planted, nurtured, well rooted and thrives in our region.,’ Tinubu said.
He said he was in close consultation with other leaders in the region and they have resolved to protect the hard-earned democracy in line with the universally acceptable principle of constitutionalism.
The African Union, through its Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat, also condemned the coup attempt.
Mahamat expressed “strong” displeasure with the development.
According to the statement, the attempt by certain members of the military to undermine the stability of democratic and republican institutions in Niger is tantamount to an attempted coup d’état.
Mahamat described the actions by members of the military as acting in betrayal of their republican duty.
Mahamat further urged the people of Niger, neighbouring countries, particularly in Ecowas, and around the world “to join their voices in unanimous condemnation of the coup attempt, and for the immediate and unconditional return of the felon soldiers to their barracks.”