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The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has told the Solicitor-General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice, that there is no order, be it interim, interlocutory or perpetual, from either the National Industrial Court or any other court restraining Nigerian workers from participating in peaceful rallies convened by it.

 

It also reminded the Federal Government, through the Solicitor-General, that there is a subsisting judgement that the right to demonstrate and protest on matters of public concern was in the public interest, which individuals must possess and exercise without impediment as long as no wrongful act was done.

 

The Labour Centre stated these via a letter from Falana chambers to the Permanent Secretary/Solicitor-General, with the title ”Re-NLC in contempt of court,” signed by Sam Ogala Esq.

The letter is coming on the heels of organised labour’s proposed protest for Wednesday, August 2, over the removal of subsidy on petrol, its attendant hardship on Nigerians and the inability of the government to roll out palliatives to cushion the harsh effect of the stoppage of subsidy payment.

The letter read: “In your reaction to the decision of Nigerian workers to participate in peaceful rallies to protest the worsening economic crisis in the country, you were reported to have accused the leaders of Nigeria Labour Congress of treating the order of the National Industrial Court with contempt.

“Contrary to your unwarranted allegation, the Nigeria Labour Congress does not intend to disobey the ex parte order of the National Industrial Court to the effect that ‘The defendants/Respondents are hereby restrained from embarking on the planned industrial action/or strike of any nature, pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice, dated June 5, 2023.’

“You will agree with us that the National Industrial Court or any other court has not granted an order of interim, interlocutory or perpetual injunction restraining Nigerian workers from participating in peaceful rallies convened by the Nigeria Labour Congress.

“Since the constitutional right of Nigerian workers to protest peacefully cannot by any stretch of imagination be classified as an industrial action or strike of any nature, you ought not to have threatened our client with contempt of court.

“It is pertinent to draw your attention to the case of Inspector-General of Police v All Nigeria Peoples Party (2008) 12 WRN 65 where the court upheld the fundamental right of Nigerians to protest without police permit. In the leading judgment of the court, Justice Adekeye said as follows:

 

“The right to demonstrate and the right to protest on matters of public concern are rights which are in the public interest and that which individuals must possess, and which they should exercise without impediment as long as no wrongful act is done.

“If as speculated by law enforcement agents that breach of the peace would occur, our criminal code has made adequate provisions for sanctions against breakdown of law and order so that the requirement of permit as a conditionality to holding meetings and rallies can no longer be justified in a democratic society.

”Finally, freedom of speech and freedom of assembly are part of democratic rights of every citizen of the republic; our legislature must guard these rights jealously as they are part of the foundation upon which the government itself rests.

“Having advised the Nigeria Labour Congress and its allies to conduct the rallies peacefully, you may wish to advise the Nigeria Police Force to comply with section 83(4) of the Police Establishment Act 2020, which states that ‘where a person or organization notifies the police of his or its intention to hold a public meeting, rally or procession on a public highway or such meetings in a place where the public has access to, the police officer responsible for the area where the meeting rally or procession will take place shall mobilize personnel to provide security cover for the meeting, rally or procession.”

[Vanguard]

Senate President Godswill Akpabio, has raised the alarm that hoodlums were invading the National Assembly complex to harass and steal lawmakers’ valuables.


Akpabio, who claimed the lawmakers now feel threatened by their presence, said as the 10th NASS settled down for legislative activities, hoodlums and people who did not have any business in the premises had been invading the federal parliament.

According to him, the uninvited guests loitered without apparent purpose all over the Senate and the House of Representatives wings, and that the hoodlums constituted themselves as nuisance by harassing lawmakers and staff of the National Assembly.


Akpabio stated this, when he received in audience members of the National Assembly Service Commission, who paid a courtesy call on him at the NASS complex, in Abuja.
The Senate President’s lamentation came after the remarks by the Chairman of the NASC, Ahmed Kadi Amshi, who presented the challenges faced by the Commission and other issues to him.

“We are aware that the entire complex is under renovation. We must also look after the environment. It is not all about the staff, we will like to see a cleaner environment and a secure complex. A lot of Senators have lost their telephones, because of the influx of people into the complex,” Akpabio said.

He explained that President Bola Tinubu would in December, inaugurate the N30bn worth different ongoing projects at the National Assembly.

“The entire Complex of the National Assembly is like a construction site now due to ongoing general renovation work and fresh projects which would on completion, be commissioned by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in December this year. Aside the general renovation work, part of new edifices being put in place, is the permanent office complex of the National Assembly Service Commission and very befitting Library Complex,” he said.

The Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC, sitting in Abuja, is getting set to deliver its judgement on the three petitions seeking to nullify the election of President Bola Tinubu.


As a precursor to the fixing of the judgement date, Justice Haruna Tsammani-led five-member panel has directed all the parties to appear before it tomorrow to adopt their final briefs of argument.

The court, in a notice sent to the parties, invited them to adopt their written address with respect to the petition lodged against President Tinubu by the former Vice President and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, as well as the one that was filed by the candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Mr Peter Obi.

It will be recalled that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had on March 1, announced that Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, won the presidential election held on February 25, ahead of 17 other candidates that participated in the contest.

It declared that Tinubu scored a total of 8,794,726 votes to defeat the two major contenders, Alhaji Atiku of the PDP, who came second with a total of 6,984,520 votes, and Mr Obi of the LP, who came third with a total of 6,101,533 votes.

However, dissatisfied with the outcome of the election, both Atiku and Obi approached the court to invalidate it. The duo, in their separate petitions, claimed that they won the presidential poll, even as they challenged Tinubu’s eligibility to contest the election. The petitioners, aside from praying the court to declare that President Tinubu did not secure the majority of lawful votes that were cast at the election, are equally seeking the withdrawal of the Certificate of Return that was issued to him by INEC.

Alternatively, they are praying the court to order a fresh presidential election, with the exclusion of President Tinubu whom they argued was ab-initio not qualified to participate in the poll.

Vanguard had reported that the Electoral Act 2022 made it mandatory for candidates that were aggrieved by the outcome of the election, to within 21 days after the result was declared by INEC, file a petition before the court which shall deliver its judgement in writing within 180 days.

The court had on July 5, concluded its hearing of both Atiku and Obi’s petitions
While Obi closed his case after he called 13 witnesses that testified and tendered several documentary exhibits, Atiku, produced 27 witnesses and equally tendered exhibits before the court. On their part, both INEC and President Tinubu wrapped up their defence in both cases with one witness each, while the APC failed to produce any witness before the court.


However, all the Respondents in their respective written addresses, urged the court to dismiss all the petitions for want of merit. They argued that the petitioners were unable to discharge the burden of proof placed on them by the law. According to the Respondents, whereas the petitioners raised allegations that had elements of crime in them, they, however, failed to prove them beyond reasonable doubt as required by the law.

President Tinubu urged the court to hold that he was validly returned as winner of the election, by the INEC.
Specifically, Atiku, in the joint petition he filed with his party, marked: CA/PEPC/05/2023, maintained that the declaration of Tinubu as the winner of the presidential election was “invalid by reason of non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022”, insisting that he “was not duly elected by a majority of lawful votes cast at the election”. He told the court that Tinubu, who was cited as the 2nd Respondent, “was at the time of the election not qualified to contest.”

In a further process he filed through his team of lawyers led by Chief Chris Uche, SAN, Atiku told the court that the President-elect had “demonstrated inconsistency as to his actual date of birth, secondary schools he attended (Government College Ibadan); his State of origin, gender, actual name; certificates evidencing Universities attended (Chicago State University).”

“The purported degree Certificate of the 2nd Respondent allegedly acquired at the Chicago State University did not belong to him but to a female (F) described as “F” in the Certificate bearing the name Bola Tinubu.

“The 2nd Respondent did not disclose to the 1st Respondent (INEC) his voluntary acquisition of the citizenship of the Republic of Guinea with Guinean Passport No. D00001551, in addition to his Nigerian citizenship. The 2nd Respondent is hereby given notice to produce the original copies of his said two passports,” Atiku added.


He argued that the APC candidate did not meet the constitutional threshold and “is constitutionally disabled from contesting for the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”.

Likewise, Obi and LP, in their own petition marked: CA/PEPC/03/2023, argued that as at the time Tinubu’s running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima, became the Vice Presidential candidate, he was still the nominated candidate of the APC for the Borno Central Senatorial election.

They equally challenged Tinubu’s eligibility to contest the presidential election, alleging that he was previously indicted and fined the sum of $460,000.00 by the United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, in Case No: 93C 4483, for an offence involving dishonesty and drug trafficking on the ground that the election was invalid by reason of corrupt practices and non-compliance with the provision of Electoral Act, 2022, the petitioners argued that INEC acted in breach of its own Regulations and Guidelines.

The petitioners contended that the electoral body was in the course of the conduct of the presidential poll, mandatorily required to prescribe and deploy technological devices for the accreditation, verification, continuation and authentication of voters and their particulars as contained in its Regulations.

Consequently, they prayed the court to not only hold that Tinubu was not qualified to contest the election but to also declare that all the votes recorded for him were wasted votes owing to his non-qualification/disqualification.

“That it is determined that on the basis of the remaining votes (after discountenancing the votes credited to the 2nd Respondent) the 1st Petitioner (Obi) scored a majority of the lawful votes cast at the election and had not less than 25% of the votes cast in at least 2/3 of the States of the Federation, and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and satisfied the constitutional requirements to be declared the winner of the 25th February 2023 presidential election.

“That it be determined that the 2nd Respondent having failed to score one-quarter of the votes cast at the presidential election in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, was not entitled to be declared and returned as the winner of the presidential election held on 25th February, 2023.

In the alternative, the petitioners want an order cancelling the election and compelling INEC to conduct a fresh election at which Tinubu, Shettima and the APC, listed as 2nd, 3rd and 4th Respondents, respectively, shall not participate.

They urged the court to declare that since Tinubu was not duly elected by a majority of the lawful votes cast in the election, therefore, his return as the winner of the presidential election, was unlawful, unconstitutional and of no effect whatsoever.

In a further alternative prayer in the petition dated March 20, which Obi filed through a team of lawyers led by Dr. Livy Uzoukwu, SAN, and Awa Kalu, SAN, he wants the tribunal to hold that the presidential election was void on the ground that it was not conducted substantially in accordance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022, and the 1999 Constitution, as amended.


Likewise, an order, “cancelling the presidential election conducted on 25th February 2023 and mandating the 1st Respondent to conduct a fresh election for the President, the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

Though five petitions were initially filed to nullify Tinubu’s election, however, the Action Alliance, AA, on May 8, withdrew its case, even as the Action Peoples Party, APP, followed suit two days later by also discontinuing further proceedings on its own petition.

The Allied Peoples Movement, APM, which refused to withdraw its own petition, had on July 14, adopted its final written address, even as the court reserved its judgement on the petition.

The APM, in its petition marked: CA/PEPC/04/2023, argued that the withdrawal of Mr. Ibrahim Masari who was initially nominated as the Vice-Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, invalidated Tinubu’s candidacy in view of Section 131(c) and 142 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

The party argued that there was a gap of about three weeks between the period that Masari, who was listed as the 5th Respondent in the petition, expressed intention to withdraw, the actual withdrawal of his purported nomination, and the time Tinubu purportedly replaced him with Senator Kashim Shettima.


It further argued that Tinubu’s candidature had elapsed at the time he nominated Shettima as Masari’s replacement.

The Economic Community of West African States may resort to the use of “force” if coup leaders in Niger do not reinstate the democratically elected regime of President Mohamed Bazoum.

“In the event that the authority’s demands are not met within one week, we will take all measures necessary to restore constitutional order in the republic of Niger,” Ecowas said in a communique Sunday after a meeting in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital. General Abdourahamane Tiani declared himself Niger’s new leader on Friday, two days after the presidential guard he leads detained Bazoum.

The coup leaders, who are believed to be backed by all the segments of the security forces, have dismissed calls from the regional bloc, the African Union, the U.S. and France to release Bazoum and return to their barracks. The 15-member Ecowas imposed economic and diplomatic sanctions with immediate effect.

The bloc closed air and land borders with Niger, froze the country’s assets at the regional central bank and state assets in commercial banks, banned commercial flights to and from Niger and froze all service transactions, including energy transactions.

Ecowas also suspended Niger from all financial assistance and transactions with all financial institutions and member states and introduced travel-ban and asset-freeze on the military officials involved in the coup, their family members and the civilians who accept a position in any government they establish. —With assistance from Katarina Hoije.

[Bloomberg]

For four days last week, Gov. Umo Eno presented his campaign blueprint to a cross section of Akwa Ibom people and some industry specialists and asked them to review and modify the document into a SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely) agenda that he could implement. Named ARISE - an acronym for agriculture, rural development, industrialization, security and education - the document was widely criticized during the campaigns for lacking in depth and implementation strategies. The summit last week was therefore mandated to tease out the important elements of the plan into short-, medium- and long-term programs and attach strategies, timelines and budgets. The very idea of a governor submitting his policy document to public scrutiny is not common, but this summit reflects Eno’s bipartisan and broad-based consultative style. I commend him for the initiative as I look forward to reading the recommendations that came out of the dialogue.

But I have my own contributions. Midway into the retreat, a damning report, indicating that Akwa Ibom State has the largest number of people living in multidimensional poverty in the Niger Delta region, was released by SatiSense, the data tech company. It was culled from the 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Report of the NBS. Multidimensional poverty means that the people do not only lack money, they also lack access to education, healthcare and basic amenities. The report reveals that Akwa Ibom has 5.08 million multidimensionally poor people; Rivers (4.4 million) and Cross River (3.44 million). While Edo and Delta also face similar challenges, their numbers are relatively lower. Edo has 1.4 million multidimensionally poor people (35.4% of population) while Delta has 2.73 million multidimensionally poor, representing 50% of the population. Bayelsa is a very bad case with 2.61 million people of its population of 2.9 million population living in multidimensional poverty, a staggering 88%.

For Akwa Ibom, the multidimensionally poor represents 71% of its population. This is a sobering revelation which might have embarrassed the governor and unsettled the people he had assembled to redesign his agenda. I hope that their recommendations will address these grim statistics. But let’s be clear: These numbers are not entirely new to some of us. NBS has consistently listed the state as being home to some of the poorest people in the country despite its famed oil wealth. It was even a major issue in the last campaign season. However, the government has not addressed the issue of poverty in any holistic manner. The response of the former governor, Udom Emmanuel, was to reject the statistics and cast aspersions on the integrity of NBS. Once, he claimed that the NBS was partisan and envious of his achievements in the state and was therefore out to embarrass him. In a TV interview, he even promised to set up his own statistics agency to counter NBS. But our poverty numbers keep popping up.

I have always been worried by our benumbingly high poverty level, and I have raised it in many interventions. Akwa Ibom people have no reason to live in poverty if their huge resources were properly managed. But they are not. A good chunk is either frittered away, stolen or spent on only the top 5% of the population which constitutes the political elites. In the last eight years, the state has earned over N4 trillion in FAAC allocation, derivation income and IGR. But the government was not only reckless, thoughtless and wasteful, its officials were largely light-fingered. Consider a few examples: The 21-storey building built and completed in 2021 by the government in Uyo and touted as ‘’a very intelligent building’’ by the former governor has remained unoccupied till today. Nobody can afford the dollar-denominated rentals. The former governor had boasted that ExxonMobil would take up the property on completion, but the oil company exited the state even before the building was completed. It turned out that he wasn’t honest with the people.

There is also another hairbrained project known as the Worship Center which was also conceived and initiated by the former governor. Designed by some Brazilian architects in the shape of a whale and constructed by Julius Berger, it was presented as a unique cathedral. But it has since been abandoned uncompleted after billions were spent on it. The idea of the government building such a costly place of worship was roundly condemned by the people, including this writer. But Udom Emmanuel would not listen. Standing close to these two structures is a 16-storey hotel built and furnished by the Godswill Akpabio administration. It was to be managed by the Hilton Group, but it was not open for business by the time Akpabio left office in 2015, and shockingly, for some unknown reasons, his successor refused to open it for the eight years he too spent in office.

A conservative estimate is that these three buildings, standing within 200 meters of each other in the heart of the town, have gulped over N50 billion in construction expenses and furnishings. But they have not added ‘’shishi’’ to the economy of the state and the wellbeing of the people. Think of their opportunity costs. Think of the huge loss. Think of what the people would have got in improved food production, education, healthcare, water and sanitation and rural roads if this money was properly spent. These abandoned buildings and many other white elephant projects which the former governor wasted money on represent the culture of reckless spending and mindless corruption that plague Akwa Ibom State. You can now see why poverty level is so high.

This is why all eyes are on Gov. Umo Eno. Can he reverse this wastefulness and utilize the resources of the people for the benefit of the generality of the people? Can he resist the temptation to embark on his own grandiose projects that he would count as ‘’achievements’’, only to abandon them? Can Umo Eno spend the people’s money prudently and transparently? My advice is that he should tackle poverty by investing wisely in agriculture and its value chain; education; healthcare and a few others. I welcome the news that the administration is planning to modernize the oil palm industry. I encourage the governor to consult with well-known leaders in that sector like Okomu Oil Company Plc in Edo State. The state can learn a lot from Okomu. Investing in sustainable agriculture will ensure food production, create thousands of jobs and produce raw materials for other sectors. With the war in Europe affecting food supply in Africa and inflation rising through the roof, it is more imperative that the government invest more in food production by creating a new generation of farmers. The government may also learn some lessons from what Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa did in Delta State in this area.

Lack of access to healthcare is another headache for the people. While many Local Government headquarters have good general hospitals, it is worrisome that Uyo, home to about half of the state’s population, has no single general hospital. It has a primary health center, a university teaching hospital and the specialist hospital that deals with complicated matters like brain surgery, but the absence of a state-funded general hospital has imposed a heavy burden on the teaching hospital which receives on average between 800 and 1,200 patients a day. ‘’Our resources are stretched thin and we are overworked everyday’’, cries a management staff who spoke to me recently. A teaching hospital was never meant to do the work of a general hospital, but it is the only affordable place for the people. Even then, a lot of the citizens can’t even afford its bills, and so they resort to prayer houses, miracle centres, churches, trado-African medicines and even ‘juju men’. A popular ‘juju man’ is always touting his skills in treating prostate cancer and fibroid!

The World Bank has developed good programs for tackling poverty across the globe. Gov. Umo Eno will do well to adopt them. Suffice it, however, to say that if he tackles health, education and agriculture appropriately, the governor would have lifted more than half of the poor from poverty.

Governor of Adamawa State has declared a 24-hour curfew across the state as some residents broke into government and private food stores on Sunday.

Witnesses told our correspondent that the looters complained of hardship following the removal of fuel subsidy and the high cost of foodstuff.

“Aside from food items, people were also seen with items such as generator sets, mattresses, and other non-food items were said to have been looted from stores owned by private individuals,” a resident, Manu Haruna, said.

Chief press secretary to the governor, Humwashi Wonosikou, announced the curfew Sunday afternoon.

He said the government was compelled to announce the sit-at-home order to check the activities of the hoodlums in the state capital looting shops and stores.

“The Governor of Adamawa State, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, has declared a 24-hour curfew on the state, effective immediately Sunday 30th July 2023.

“Governor Fintiri said the curfew followed the dangerous dimension activities of hoodlums had assumed across the state capital as they attacked people with matches and broke into business premises carting away property.

“With the curfew imposed, there will be no movement throughout the state.

“Fintiri said only those on essential duties with valid identification would be permitted to move around during the period of the curfew.

“The Governor is appealing to citizens and residents of the state to comply with the directive, adding that any person found contravening the order would be arrested and made to face the wrath of the law, Wonosikou wrote in the Sunday press release.

The police command in the state similarly released a statement warning residents to be law-abiding and stay away from chaotic activities.

The state’s commissioner of police, Afolabi Babatola, said he had deployed a team drawn from different units to enforce the 24-hour curfew declared by the state government.

President Bola Tinubu has appointed a Special Investigator to probe the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Related Entities, Daily Trust reports.

The president named Jim Osayande Obazee, the Chief Executive Officer, Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN), as the investigator.

The President asked the Special Investigator to investigate CBN and key Government Business Entities (GBEs).

He also said Obazee would report directly to his office.


“In accordance with the fundamental objective set forth in Section 15(5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), this administration is, today, continuing the fight against corruption by appointing you as a Special Investigator, to investigate the CBN and Related Entities. This appointment shall be with immediate effect and you are to report directly to my office.”

“The full terms of your engagement as Special Investigator shall be communicated to you in due course but, require that you immediately take steps to ensure the strengthening and probity of key Government Business Entities (GBEs), further block leakages in CBN and related GBEs and provide a comprehensive report on public wealth currently in the hands of corrupt individuals and establishments (whether private or public).


“You are to investigate the CBN and related entities using a suitably experienced, competent and capable team and work with relevant security and anti-corruption agencies to deliver on this assignment. I shall expect a weekly briefing on the progress being made,” the letter read.

The president also sent a copy of his directive suspending Godwin Emefiele as Governor of the CBN on June 9, 2023.


Emefiele has been in DSS custody since then. He was arraigned in court last week and granted bail but the secret police rearrested him.

...Says Assault Misdirected And Uncalled For

The Senate has described as misplaced, a comment credited to a chieftain of the Labour Party, Professor Pat Utomi, over the decision of the Senate to stop the planned increase of electricity tariffs which would further increase the suffering of the masses.

A statement issued by the Chairman, Media and Publicity Committee of the Senate, Yemi Adaramodu, on Sunday in Abuja said, "the Senate is alarmed at the insidious misinterpretation enunciated by some political surrealists, who always leave the causes of their troubles to look for unnecessary scapegoats.

"The personal tirades and character assaults hauled at the Senate President by Professor Pat Utomi, are misdirected and uncalled for. Insinuating that the President of the Senate, His Excellency, Godswill Akpabio, was mocking the Nigerian masses with the phrase 'LET THE POOR BREATHE, is dressing falsehood and mischief in an undesirable garment.

" The Senate is an assembly of Distinguished men and women, who are sent by the Nigerian public to the Hallowed Chamber to represent their interests. The public-interest motion to halt an increase in the electricity tariff for Nigerians is one of such instances that tests the Senatorial responsiveness of Distinguished members of the 10th Senate.

" With the fire of the fuel subsidy removal still smouldering, the Senate opined that any increase in electricity tariff would be suffocating and that whoever is desirous in doing so should allow the poor; all Nigerians to breathe.

"The Senate President compassionately, hit the gavel with a stoic warning that any such attempts would be obnoxious, ludicrous and could only seize oxygen from the reach of the masses.

"Despite this open display of patriotism and sensitivity, some political irrenditists and turncoats feel they could turn the omnipotent actuality on its head to gain their lost momentum.

"The Senate didn't and would not mock the masses, without who, there would be no Nigerian Senate.Who, digging into an extreme partisanship to impugn on the image of the Senate and particularly the personality of the Senate President, is quite unfortunate and an exhibition of political superficialism, irreverent and opprobrious outburst.

"We believe that whoever is in the court to pursue a self-awarded electoral victory should not labour to assume that running expletives on the Senate and its leadership is the needed elixir to infuse legal blood into the dry veins of their case.

"The 10th Senate, under the leadership of Senate President Godswill Akpabio, has passed many life support resolutions in its short span, including the misinterpreted Senate's No to Increase in Electricity Tariff.

" We thus advise political rolling stones and pretenders not to play politics with the lives of Nigerians and allow the National Assembly to join hands with other arms of government to pull out Nigeria from economic morass and make life more abundant for us all", the statement concluded.

In a swift response to military coup in Niger Republic, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has enforced a no-flight zone over the country.

The decision was announced today by the ECOWAS, at an urgent meeting following the increasing tension stirred by the military actors who are attempting to take over in Niger.

This significant move which includes air and land border closure, is seen as a crucial reaction to the recent ascendancy of the junta, which has stirred significant unrest in the country and poses a threat to political stability within the region.

The ECOWAS leadership believes that the imposition of a no-flight zone will help curb the junta’s influence and hinder any potential allies from providing aerial support, even as leaders of the coup fear that the regional body could stage an imminent military intervention in the capital of the Sahel country.

In addition to the no-flight zone, the regional body has agreed on immediate financial sanctions over the coup, and has given the junta a week to cede power, while noting that a use of force has not been ruled out.

ECOWAS also insisted that President Mohamed Bazoum remains recognized as president of Niger, and called upon member states and the international community to uphold and respect these decision, in an effort to help restore peace and stability in the republic.

Speaking at the emergency meeting which he presided over today, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu who serves as Chairman of the ECOWAS denounced the coup by military leaders in Niger Republic, saying Africa has come of age.

Briefing leaders of the regional bloc, Tinubu registered the displeasure of ECOWAS at the coup d’état in the Niger Republic.

“Africa has come of age, we reject coup and interruption to constitutional order,” the Nigerian leader said amid applause.

“As African leaders, it is our sheer responsibility to foster stability and progress, placing the wellbeing of our people at the forefront of our endeavours.

“Working together towards their prosperity and happiness must always constantly be our goal and consistently, we will stand with our people in freedom and our commitment to the rule of law and not the barrel of gun.”

Late Wednesday, General Abdourahamane Tchiani, the chief of Niger’s powerful presidential guard took power after a military coup. The action has since been condemned by the United Nations, African Union, the European Union, the United States among other world and regional leaders.

Tchiani, 59, has shunned the limelight despite a stellar military career which saw him lead the elite 700-member unit from 2011 up until now.

On Friday, Tchiani declared himself leader after staging a takeover that began on Wednesday when his presidential guards seized President Mohamed Bazoum and sequestered him in the presidential palace.

[Channels TV]

Thousands of supporters of a military junta that took power in Niger earlier this week have marched in the capital, Niamey, with many waving Russian flags and chanting the name of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The demonstrators on July 30 set fire to the door of the French Embassy, while the army tried to restore order.

The French Foreign Ministry urged the junta to "ensure the security of our diplomatic missions and consulates," while the office of French President Emmanuel Macron said France "will not tolerate any attack against France or its interests."

Former colonial power France and the European Union suspended financial aid and security cooperation with Niger on July 29.

Junta leaders said they overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum on July 28 because of what they claimed was the threat of "imminent military intervention" by the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

ECOWAS planned an emergency summit in Abuja, Nigeria, on July 30 to discuss the situation in Niger.

Russia's Kremlin-connected Wagner mercenary group has a presence in neighboring Mali.

Before the coup, Niger was considered the most reliable remaining partner for Western efforts to combat jihadists in the Sahel region. France has 1,500 troops in Niger to conduct joint operations with Niger's military, while the United States and the European Union have provided security training and assistance.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Binken, traveling in Australia, said continued U.S. aid was conditioned on "the continuation of the democratic governance and constitutional order" in Niger.

The African Union has issued an ultimatum to the junta to restore Niger's democratically elected government within 15 days. Failure to do so, the bloc said, would force it to take "necessary action, including punitive measures against the perpetrators."

Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world and relies on some $2 billion in annual international assistance.

With reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters