Despite Tinubu’s Sanction, ECOWAS Defence Chiefs Seek Return Of Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso

ECOWAS Chiefs of Defence Staffs on Friday sought the return of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, who left the regional bloc to form the Alliance of Sahel States, a mutual defence agreement also known as the AES Confederation.

The call, beckoning for the AES/ASS return, followed the 2023 economic sanction imposed on Niger by the ECOWAS Chair, President Bola Tinubu, who, despite coming into office through fraudulent means in Nigeria, threatened military intervention to restore civilian rule after a coup in Niger.

Tinubu’s one year as Head of ECOWAS saw the withdrawal of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso from the regional bloc after a 49-year union.

However, considering the weakening lapses by these countries’ exit from ECOWAS, the regional Defence Chiefs stated that their return was crucial to overcoming the insecurity plaguing the region, particularly insurgency.

The Chairman of the ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff and the Nigerian Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, who spoke during a leading visit to the National Coordinator of the Counter-terrorism Centre, Major General Adamu Laka in Abuja, cited security concerns as why the three countries must return to the bloc.

Musa noted that efforts were underway to bring them back, stressing that all countries in the region must work together to address insecurity in West Africa.

For us, we feel without security, there can’t be progress. And the threats we are facing, especially on insurgency, are high, and we think it’s very, very important that we need to partner together to achieve success. No country can do it alone, and that’s why it’s important,” he stated.

“We know we have three countries that have decided to step aside. We are making all efforts to ensure that they come back to the fold because we know even they, on their own, cannot withstand this. And we know the relevance. If they fall, it will also drag us down,” he added.

According to Musa, the insecurity in the region was spreading “wide” and “fast”, as he urged the Defence Chiefs to leave no stone unturned to curb the menace.

In a corroborative tone, Laka also said there was a need for cooperation among the West African countries to defeat terrorism.

We hope to partner with our brothers in the West African sub-region and the Sahel. They say if your brother’s house is on fire, it can also reach yours,” he stated.

“So we need to learn from one another. We don’t plan to make this place the only place. We plan to partner with Abidjan.

“So it’s going to be a partnership. While we are experts in the preventive aspects, we are going to partner with all those centres to address the threat of terrorism,” he added.

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