The Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, has ordered its standby force to restore constitutional order in NIger Republic.
The President of ECOWAS, Omar Alieu Touray made the declaration while reading the resolution of ECOWAS on the Niger coup at the ECOWAS Extraordinary meeting in Abuja on Thursday.
The resolution partly reads, “Direct the committee of the Chief of Defence Staff to activate the ECOWAS stand-by force with all its elements immediately.
“Order the deployment of the ECOWAS stand-by force to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger.
“Underscore its continued commitment to the restoration of constitutional order through peaceful means.
In a similar vein, president of Cote d’Ivoire, Alassane Quattara, told journalists that if they fail to restore the country to constitutional order and reinstate Mohamed Bazoum, ECOWAS would move in and flush them out.
THe said the action against Niger was not a Nigerian affair as ECOWAS had previously acted in cases where there have been interference with constitutional order among member states.
While noting that the subregional body had sent high-powered delegations to Niger, the military authorities have however continued to hold President Bazoum hostage, a situation he described as terrorism.
He asserted that ECOWAS will not accept coups as the place of the military is in the barracks.
Quattara said if they do not allow Bazoum to exercise his mandate, “we will go ahead and push them out”.
He affirmed that this is the position that the ECOWAS has adopted.
