A delegation from regional nations arrived in Niger in a last-ditch diplomatic effort to reach a peaceful solution with mutinous soldiers who overthrew the country’s president last month, according to a report by Aljazeera last night.

A plane carrying the delegation reportedly landed in the capital Niamey at about 1pm (12:00 GMT), yesterday, a day after the bloc’s military chiefs said they were ready to intervene to reinstate deposed President Mohamed Bazoum.

Niger’s governing military council confirmed the arrival of the ECOWAS representatives, headed by former Nigerian leader Abdulsalami Abubakar.

A previous ECOWAS delegation led by Abubakar earlier this month tried and failed to meet Bazoum and the coup leader, General Abdourahamane Tchiani.

Representatives from the West African regional bloc, ECOWAS, came to Niamey and joined efforts by United Nations Special Representative for West Africa and the Sahel, Leonardo Santos Simao, who arrived on Friday, in trying to facilitate a resolution to the continuing crisis.

On Friday, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Simao would meet the military rulers and other parties to try and facilitate a swift and peaceful resolution to Niger’s crisis.

“What we want to see is a return to the constitutional order. We want to see the liberation of the president and his family, and restoration of his legitimate authority,” Dujarric said.

On August 10, ECOWAS ordered the deployment of a “standby force” to restore constitutional rule in the country.

The soldiers who overthrew democratically elected Bazoum in July have quickly entrenched themselves in power, rebuffed most dialogue efforts, and kept Bazoum, his wife and son under house arrest in the capital.

‘Putschists won’t be holding their breath’

On Friday, the ECOWAS commissioner for peace and security, Abdel-Fatau Musah, said 11 of its 15 member states agreed to commit troops to a military deployment, saying they were “ready to go” whenever the order was given.

The 11 member states do not include Niger itself and the bloc’s three other countries under military rule following coups: Guinea, Mali and Burkina Faso. The latter two have warned they would consider any intervention in Niger an act of war.

“The D-day is also decided. We’ve already agreed and fine-tuned what will be required for the intervention,” Aljazeera quoted Musah as saying.

Although he did not disclose the specific day, he added that “we are ready to go any time the order is given.”

Defence chiefs held a two-day meeting in Accra, Ghana, to discuss the deployment of a standby force to Niger as directed by the heads of state.

Musah said the bloc is still preparing a mediation mission to Niger, “so we have not shut any door.”

“Let no one be in doubt that if everything else fails, the valiant forces of West Africa, both the military and the civilian components, are ready to answer to the call of duty.”

But for Cape Verde, Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea, most of ECOWAS’s 15 member-states are prepared to contribute to the joint force, he said.

On Friday, Niger’s state television said Mali and Burkina Faso dispatched warplanes in a show of solidarity.

Friday’s announcement is the latest in a series of empty threats by ECOWAS to forcefully restore democratic rule in Niger, conflict analysts said.

Immediately after the coup, the bloc gave the military government seven days to release and restore Bazoum, a deadline that came and went with no action.

“The putschists won’t be holding their breath this time over the renewed threat of military action,” said Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel programme at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, a think tank.

Mutinous soldiers are cementing their rule and appointing loyal commanders to key units while ECOWAS has no experience with military action in hostile territory and would have no local support if it tried to intervene, he said.

“Niger is a very fragile country that can easily turn, in case of a military intervention, into a failed state like Sudan,” said Laessing.
‘We will all go’

On the streets of the capital on Saturday, many residents said they’re preparing to fight back against an ECOWAS military intervention.

Thousands of people in Niamey lined up outside the main stadium to register as volunteers or fighters, and to help with other needs in case the military government requires support. Some parents brought their children to sign up; others said they’d been waiting since 3am while groups of youths boisterously chanted in favour of the military leaders and against ECOWAS and the country’s former colonial ruler France.

3 I am here for the recruitment to become a good soldier. We are all here for that,” said Ismail Hassan a resident waiting in line to register. “If God wills, we will all go.”

The humanitarian situation in the country is also on the agenda. Before the coup, nearly three million people were facing severe food insecurity and hundreds of thousands were internally displaced, according to CARE, an international aid group.

Economic and travel sanctions imposed by ECOWAS after the coup, coupled with the deteriorating security, will have dire consequences for the population, CARE said.

Previously, Western countries saw Niger as one of the last democratic nations they could partner with to beat back growing attacks linked to al-Qaeda and the ISIL (ISIS) armed group, and poured millions of dollars of military aid and assistance into shoring up Niger’s forces.

Since the coup, fighters have been taking advantage of the freedom of movement caused by suspended military operations by the French and Americans and a distracted Nigerien army focusing efforts on the capital.

Last week, at least 17 soldiers were killed and 20 wounded during an ambush. It was the first major attack against Niger’s army in six months. A day later, at least 50 civilians were killed in the Tillaberi region by suspected ISIL fighters.

“The recent attacks should motivate all parties to work for as speedy and inclusive a transition as possible so they can get back to the crucial business of protecting civilians from the devastating consequences of war,” said Corinne Dufka a political analyst who specialises in the Sahel region.
“In due time, Nigeriens and their partners should look long and hard at why and how democracy in Niger faltered.”

[Vanguard]

The suspended Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, has now spent 67 days in detention under the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) in Abuja without acquiring legal representation, according to sources who spoke to Punch.

Bawa is being investigated for alleged financial impropriety during his tenure as head of the anti-graft agency. He has reportedly refused to answer questions or provide written statements to DSS operatives interrogating him. Sources say he has not requested bail or release from detention.

In June, DSS agents searched Bawa’s home in Abuja in the presence of his wife and children. They also searched his office at the EFCC headquarters with a warrant. Several of Bawa’s close associates at the EFCC were also brought in for questioning about the allegations.

The DSS obtained court orders extending Bawa’s detention beyond the 48 hours constitutionally allowed in order to continue their investigation. Sources reveal the allegations include misappropriation of proceeds from the sale of assets seized by the EFCC.

In 2019, Bawa was arrested for allegedly selling 244 trucks worth N4.8 billion seized by the Port Harcourt zonal office to his cronies at N100,000 each. The trucks were worth between N20-30 million each. The former Zamfara State Governor also accused Bawa of demanding a $2 million bribe.

There are also allegations that Bawa collaborated in fraudulent deals with Bureau De Change operators together with suspended CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele. The DSS is gathering evidence before charging Bawa to court.

The spokesperson for the DSS declined to comment on Bawa’s ongoing detention and investigation. With no legal counsel secured after over two months in custody, the suspended EFCC Chairman faces an uncertain future.

Democracy is a very evocative notion. In the name of restoring or defending it, presidents have wielded bayonets, levied war, and executed coups. On 10 August, 2023 a summit of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) rose from its convening in Abuja, Nigeria’s federal capital, with an explicit order for “the deployment of the ECOWAS Standby Force to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger.”

The following day, the headline was “West African nations order troops to restore democracy in Niger after military coup.” But, if the idea of “ordering troops” to “restore democracy” sounds like an oxymoron, it’s because it actually is.

In the aftermath of the chaos left after armed interventions led by the United States of America in Iraq in 2003 and by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in Libya in 2011, however, the idea of bayonets for democracy has lost currency. A military invasion, in any case, requires more than the orders of presidents. Military planners have to design a concept of operations (CONOPS) and, these days, military lawyers too have to weigh in. The former is not-negotiable but lack of the latter has never stopped politicians from going ahead.

Thwarted by France and Russia in its desire for a UN security Council authorization of use of force against Iraq in March 2003, the USA decided to proceed nevertheless with its own coalition of the willing. Having talked up its causus belli as Saddam Hussein’s ultimately non-existent weapons of mass destruction, President George W. Bush had to find another reason for his regime change project in Iraq.

Addressing his country and the world at the beginning of the invasion on 19 March, 2003, President Bush claimed that his mission was to “disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger” so as “to remove a threat and restore control of that country to its own people.” In other words, he was a warrior for democracy (in Iraq).

President Bush was not the first US leader to order or tolerate military action against another territory nor was he a pioneer in the business of doing that in the name of democracy. 110 years before the invasion of Iraq, during the presidency of Benjamin Harrison, armed activity by US military assets toppled Queen Liluokalani of Hawaii in 1893, ultimately leading to its annexation.

When in December 1909, President Howard Taft’s administration masterminded the overthrow of Nicaragua’s José Manuel Zelaya, it was because, as stated by then Secretary of State, Philander Knox, “under the regime of President Zelaya, republican institutions have ceased in Nicaragua except in name.” The excuse was the defence of democracy.

Some 20 years before President Bush ordered the invasion of Iraq, President Ronald Reagan had also invaded Grenada, a small island on the eastern Caribbean, in the name of democracy. In March 1979, the Marxist, New Jewel Movement led by Maurice Bishop and Bernard Coard had overthrown Grenada’s first prime minister, Eric Gairy, in a populist coup that initially promised “all democratic freedoms, including freedom of elections, religion, and political opinion.” Instead, on taking power, Prime Minister Bishop retrenched the constitution and parliament, preferring instead to rule by populist decrees.

In October 1983, a long-running rivalry between Maurice Bishop and his deputy, Bernard Coard, over ideological purity of the New Jewel Movement ended with the army commander, General Hudson Austin, throwing his weight behind Coard. Bishop was placed under house arrest and, following an effort by his supporters to free him, a confrontation ensued in which he and his leading supporters were massacred on 16 October 1983, leaving the Movement in the control of Marxist purists whom the United States could not tolerate.

Citing a dubious “invitation” by some states of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, the USA launched an invasion of the Island on 25 October 1983. The goal, as captured in the back-dated letter of invitation by Sir Paul Scoon, whom they installed as Prime Minister after the invasion, was “to facilitate a rapid return to peace and tranquility and a return to democratic rule.”

In response, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution which “deeply deplored the armed intervention in Grenada”, describing it as “a flagrant violation of international law and of the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of that state.” Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New York boiled down the case against the invasion of Grenada in a one sentence declamation: “I don’t know that you restore democracy at the point of a bayonet.”

This did not prevent President Bush’s father, the first President HW Bush, from overthrowing former US client, Manuel Noriega, in Panama, in 1989. Noriega had emerged as the effective leader of Panama and its army chief after the killing in a suspicious helicopter crash of General Omar Torrijos at the end of July 1981, followed by the systematic, often macabre elimination of his most significant opponents. By 1989, Noriega had become so dominant that he single-handedly procured the nullification of the victory in the presidential election of Guillermo Endara, an act described by the USA then as “cowardly”. On 20 December 1989, the USA launched military action to topple Noriega. Two weeks later, on 3 January, 1990, Noriega landed in Metropolitan Correction Centre, Miami. He was a criminal indictee.

A lot has evolved since then. In May 1990, ECOWAS adopted a proposal by Nigeria to establish and deploy a military intervention in Liberia, known as the ECOWAS Monitoring Group (ECOMOG). In the eyes of many, the intervention was a thinly disguised effort to save the regime of Samuel Doe in Liberia. Doe, a Master Sergeant, had seized power in Africa’s oldest republic, Liberia, in April 1980, after killing then incumbent, President William Tolbert, before transforming himself into a civilianized soldier in pre-determined elections in 1986. His brutal and erratic rulership ultimately precipitated a murderous civil war in Liberia, which quickly threatened its neighbours with contagion.

For justification, the deployment of ECOMOG in Liberia was grounded in an invitation from Mr. Doe’s government supposedly issued under the terms of the Protocol Relating to Mutual Assistance in Defence, an agreement adopted by ECOWAS member States in Freetown, Sierra Leone, in 1981. The UN would later buy into the model of ECOMOG and of regional action in support of peace and security.

In January 2017, ECOWAS with support from the African Union and reinforced by the United Nations Security Council deployed to enforce the outcome of the election in The Gambia in which defeated incumbent, Yahya Jammeh, having initially conceded defeat, changed his mind and refused to vacate office. The victorious new president, Adama Barrow, reinforced the legal authority of the deployment with an invitation of his own.

In Niger, notably, ECOWAS and the AU are at odds.

The use of force in defence of the idea of a sovereign republic or of democracy is so high-minded that, quite often, presidents lack the patience to finesse its legality. In November 1903, military sleight of hand by President Theodore Roosevelt achieved the secession of Panama from Colombia. In Cabinet subsequently, President Roosevelt asked his Attorney-General, the appropriately-named Philander Knox, to provide the legalese in support of the operation, to which Mr. Knox is reported to have infamously responded: “Mr. President, do not let so great an achievement suffer from any taint of legality.”

The leaders of ECOWAS could desperately do with their own Philander Knox as they contemplate their options in Niger Republic. If they can find one, they may not have to worry about soiling their bayonets for democracy with any taint of legality. But they will still need a workable CONOPS. That may be the practical problem that compels ECOWAS ultimately to give diplomacy a chance in Niger.

There is precedent for this. One week after Col. Pierre Buyoya’s (second) coup against the elected government of President Sylvestre Ntibantunganya on 25 July 1996, seven neighbouring countries initiated a complete blockade of land-locked Burundi at the beginning of August. By common consent, the sanctions “ultimately played a major role in pressuring the Buyoya government into the Arusha negotiations due to their severe cost,” which forced Buyoya in 2003 to cede power to a new president, Domitien Ndayizeye.

A lawyer & a teacher, Odinkalu can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The leader of the military coup in the Niger Republic, General Abdourahamane Tchiani on Saturday said the army will hand over power to the civilian government within the next three years.

Recall that Tchiani and other presidential guards took over power democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum in July.

Tchiani while speaking in a televised broadcast on Saturday night said within a month, the junta will form a committee to study and form the new constitution of the country.

He spoke after meeting with a delegation of the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) led by the former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd).

The coup leader further stated that Niger has no intention to go to war, adding that the country will defend itself if the need arises.

He, however, added that the door for negotiation was still open.

Tchiani said, “Our ambition is not to confiscate power,” adding that any transition of power “would not go beyond three years.”

He added, “If an attack were to be undertaken against us, it will not be the walk in the park some people seem to think.

“ECOWAS is getting ready to attack Niger by setting up an occupying army in collaboration with a foreign army.”

In his 12-minute speech, Tchiani denounced what he called the “illegal” and “inhuman” sanctions levied by ECOWAS against Niger since the military seized power.

He also announced 30 days of “national dialogue” to draw up “concrete proposals” to lay the foundations of “a new constitutional life”.

Former Nigeria’s Military Head of State, Gen Abdulsalami Abubakar has said that ousted Niger President Mohamed Bazoum told the delegation of the Economic Community of West African States delegation the challenges he has faced since he was detained by the military junta led by General Abdourahamane Tchiani.

Abdulsalami led a high-powered delegation of the ECOWAS to the troubled West African nation.

The delegation met with Prime Minister Ali Zeine who received them at the airport and led them to the presidential palace.

They met with Tchiani, and his team for about 90 minutes and later President Mohamed Bazoum.

Speaking with journalists after the meeting with Bazoum, Abdulsalami said, “We met him and heard his side of the story. He told us what was done to him and the challenges he is facing.

“We will communicate this to ECOWAS leaders. Doors for talks are now open for a lasting solution.”

The former Head of State did not go into details of the discussion with the ousted president.

But some weeks ago, CNN quoted Bazoum in a series of text messages to a friend as saying he had been “deprived of all human contact”, with no one supplying him food or medicine.

According to the overthrown president, he had been living without electricity, a normal occurrence for all Nigeriens after Nigeria cut off electric power in response to the coup.

Bazoum said all of the perishable food he was supplied with has since gone bad, and he was now eating dry pasta and rice.

Following the approval of N180 billion by the Federal Government to the 36 states of the federation for the procurement of food items and fertilisers as palliatives to ameliorate the impact of petrol subsidy removal, a Lagos-based Civil Society Organisation (CSO) has charged Nigerians to monitor the disbursement by state governors.

President Bola Tinubu had on May 29 during his inaugural speech after taking an oath of office, announced the removal of petrol subsidy, which led to hike in food prices.

According to the National Economic Council (NEC), a sum of N5bn will be given to each state to procure 100,000 bags of rice, 40,000 bags of maize, and fertilizers to cushion the effect of food shortage across the country.

But reacting on Saturday, the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, CACOL, expressed pessimism in governors distributing these palliatives because of happenings in the past.

The organisation stated that during the Covid-19 pandemic, palliatives meant for Nigerians were locked up in warehouses across the country, to the detriment of the people.

CACOL noted that Nigerians monitoring the disbursement of these palliatives would ensure that they are not cornered by politicians.

“We would like to commend the federal government for at least heeding numerous outcries from various quarters calling for palliatives to cushion the effect of the fuel subsidy removal on the people. This administration has shown that it is feeling the pulse of the people by approving 180bn as palliatives to be shared among the states in the country,” said CACOL Chairman, Debo Adeniran.

“We are however skeptical about the capabilities of some governors to deliver or disburse these palliatives to those they were intended, going by the happenings in the past. We are all living witnesses to the way and manner some foodstuffs that were meant to serve as palliatives for Nigerians were locked up in warehouses across the country by some greedy and selfish people in power at the detriment of pauperized, traumatized, and famished Nigerians during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We would also want to call on the state governors to ensure judicious disbursement of the palliatives both in cash and kind. They should ensure that these palliatives do not end in the pockets of the few powerful individuals in their various states. The people of the state should feel the impacts of these palliatives no matter how small.

“We also want to use this medium to call on our people to monitor the disbursement of these palliatives in their various states so as to ensure that foodstuffs and other commodities meant for the people are not cornered by politicians,” he added.

One Imabong William has landed in a hospital after she was doused in hot water mixed with pepper by her land lady over her inability to meet up with her rental obligation.

The land lady identified as Amaka Okonkwo allegedly carried out the heinous act after William failed to leave her house upon the expiration of the quit notice she (the landlady) gave her.

The incident happened on Thursday at Enugwu-Ukwu community in Njikoka Local Government Area of Enugu state.

Okonkwo had given William given quit notice over her inability to pay a new rent imposed on tenants in the building.

She had, however, asked for time to find a new apartment, before her landlady poured hot water mixed with pepper on her.

The landlady had since been arrested by the police, after neighbours reported her action at Nimo police Station.

Sources within the community said the victim, who hails from Akwa Ibom State, was already receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital, after neighbours rescued her.

Anambra State Commissioner for Women’s Affairs, Mrs Ify Obinabo, who visited the victim, narrated that the victim stated that she was asked to vacate the house over her inability to pay the new rent increment.

She explained that she pleaded with the landlady for some time to enable her get a new place, but unfortunately, while she was washing her clothes on Thursday, the said landlady poured hot water mixed with pepper on her from behind.

Obinabo expressed her displeasure over the incident and promised to get justice for the victim.

She warned that the Anambra State Government will not take lightly anyone found culpable of assault of any kind and went on to advise the public to always report crimes and misdemeanours through the appropriate channels for quick intervention.

There has been excitement among members and followers of the Deeper Life Christian Ministry after the General Superintendent of the church, Pastor William Kumuyi, revealed a former official of The Apostolic Faith, Pa Elijah Dosunmu, who led him to Christ.

Dosunmu is 83-year-old and lives in Lagos State, where he runs a school.

Kumuyi narrated his encounter with the octogenarian last Sunday during a private commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the church with some leaders at Gbagada, Lagos State.

The revered holiness preacher recalled how Dosunmu invited him to The Apostolic Faith and he (Kumuyi) gave a condition that Dosunmu must also attend his church, the Cherubim and Seraphim, where he was a drummer.

Kumuyi said after his guest attended the C&S church, he (Kumuyi) asked him to share his thoughts on the service and he simply replied “active”.

“He didn’t say, ‘It was bad, calling the name of angels.’ He just said, ‘active’. He is a good man.

“So, I accepted to go with him to the gospel church. But it was too quiet. People just sat down, they sang and they stood up, there was no dancing, gymnastics, nothing!

“And so, when we came out, he also asked me, ‘How was it?’ I did not have the wisdom they had or anything. But I said, ‘It was too quiet, like somebody in a cemetery, no dancing. I miss the dancing in my church.’

“So, eventually, he invited me again and I kept on going and I began to see the light and on the 5th of April 1964, I went to the altar, surrendered my life to the Lord and became born again.

“And he kept on doing the follow up and teaching me gospel songs, with another friend. Both of them were responsible for making me switch over completely and eventually I became saved, sanctified and baptised in the Holy Ghost. He was a great encouragement to me; that’s why I said I should call him out and show his face to you that this is the man, the brother, the minister that God used for me,” he added.

The cleric, while commending Dosunmu, who also sheltered him at different times, said after he (Kumuyi) started evangelising, he attracted the wrath of the leadership of The Apostolic Faith.

He said, “When I was excommunicated for evangelism, he was a worker in the Apostolic Faith and he had to make a choice, where will he stay, what will he do?”

“Instead of staying there, where he had a good position, good connection, the people from the leadership to membership knew him, he chose to say he would not leave me alone; he would go with me, excommunication or no excommunication, that he would be with me. I respect his commitment and his contribution to my life as I was growing up.”

The Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, has said he was surprised that the Federal Government led by President Bola Tinubu has not been able to ‘perform well’ since it took over office on May 29, adding that all is not well with the country.

He urged Nigerians to pray for the country, noting that the ‘relative peace’ presently enjoyed in the nation must not be taken for granted.

He made these remarks on Saturday at the 10th Convention of the Catholic Men Organisation, Lagos Archdiocese, held at St Gregory’s College, Ikoyi.

In his homily culled from the general theme, ‘Fan into flames the gift of God which is in you’, Onaiyekan said, “It is not surprising that the so-called victorious new government has not been able to perform well and has not been able to actually muster the trust and co-operation of the vast majority of the people of Nigeria.

Speaking on the Presidential Elections Petition Tribunal, Onaiyekan said all eyes were still on the courts.

He said, “Will the courts decide that the election was correct and okay, or will the courts arrive at the conclusion, which many people arrived at already even from the very beginning, that this election result as declared was not tenable?

“The delay in the courts giving judgment is itself a pity. As they say, ’Justice delayed is justice denied’. But we will still wait until the courts pass their judgment.

“We have to accept whatever the Supreme Court will decide, whether we like it or not. This is because there is no other human recourse after the Supreme Court. We will have to leave everything in the hands of God,” he added.

The National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Senator Ajibola Basiru, has called on members of the party to resolve their differences, work towards a stronger party and sack the current governor of the state, Ademola Adeleke, from office in 2026.

Basiru, who spoke in Osogbo on Saturday at a reception organised for him by the APC leadership of Osogbo Federal Constituency, also declared the current administration in the state as incompetent.

The ex-Senate spokesperson, who was flanked by the APC state chairmen from the South-West region, as well as party bigwigs from all parts of the state, said people that installed the current administration in the state were already regretting their actions.

He charged party members not to cause internal disruption, but work very hard to reposition it for better outing in the next round of elections.

He said, “Less than a year after, those that wanted to destroy the good fortune of our state are already lamenting. Those that they put in government in the state don’t know how to govern. They are appointing SSA, Government House Pool; SSA Oranmiyan Newtown; SSA, children; SSA swimming pool and so on. They must be sacked from government.

“When we sack him (Adeleke) in 2026, he will go for three days diploma as usual to learn about NGO after he failed to sack Iyaloja General. The APC is an organised party. Let’s show more commitment.”

Explaining issues around subsidy removal, Basiru, who spoke in Yoruba language, told the gathering that about N2tn had been saved in the last two months after the Federal Government ended the subsidy regime.

Contacted for reaction, Osun State Commissioner for Information and Public Engagement, Mr. Kolapo Alimi, said Basiru had a track record of talking recklessly, saying the appointment of aides by the governor did not constitute grounds for nonperformance.