ECOWAS troops on standby in Niger as junta threatens to kill Bazoum

Eric Patrick

Leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) at the 2nd Extraordinary Summit on the Socio-Political situation in the Republic of Niger Republic in Abuja on Thursday, passed a resolution for immediate invasion of Niger, mandating the regional bloc standby force to restore constitutional order in the country.

President Bola Tinubu, ECOWAS Chairman, was of the view that the prevailing political crisis in Niger Republic threatens the stability of Nigeria and other West African countries.

Participants at the summit include Presidents of Guinea Bissau, Senegal, Cote ‘d’Ivoire, Ghana, Benin, Sierra Leone, and Togo, while Liberia and the Gambia were represented by their Foreign Ministers.

However, THEWATCH AFRICA gathered that the Junta has threatened to kill the ousted Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum should the Economic Community of West African States attempt any military intervention to restore democracy in the francophone country.

The junta revealed their dark plot to murder the deposed president to a top United States diplomat, two Western officials confirmed to the Associated Press on Thursday.

The threat is coming on the heels of the resolution of the ECOWAS to deploy troops in Niger following the refusal of the military leaders to restore democracy despite the sanctions imposed on them and their collaborators by the regional body.

Speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation, a Western military official said representatives of the junta told the US Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland of the threat to Bazoum during her visit to the country on Monday.