Femi Falana, a human rights lawyer, SAN, has called on the Authority of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), not to attack the Niger Republic as a whole but impose sanctions on the military junta.
According to Falana, “Apart from suspending Niger from ECOWAS, the leaders of the sub-regional body should refrain from attending international conferences with coup plotters as was recently witnessed during the recently concluded Russia-Africa Summit held in St. Petersburg, Russia.”
Falana made the calls in a paper titled “Unconstitutional Change of Governments: the Role of Bar Associations”, delivered today at a two-day conference of the West African Bar Association in Accra, Ghana.
The paper, which a punch correspondent in Abuja obtained, reads in part:
“The United States and the European Union have backed the actions of the ECOWAS.
“However, the military rulers in Niger have warned against any armed intervention in the country, as West African leaders were set to meet on Sunday for an emergency summit to decide on further actions to pressure the army to restore constitutional order after a coup last week.
“The military junta has decided to hold President Mohamed Bazoum and 180 other political leaders in Niger as hostages.
“Sadly, the junta has successfully mobilised the civilian populace in Niger to stage pro-coup demonstrations. The military regimes in Burkina Faso and Mali have threatened to jointly resist any military invasion of Niger.”
Speaking on the recent developments, Falana brought to light the acceptance of the coup by the majority of the Nigerien, an action which he advised that ECOWAS must “seriously consider”.
He noted that the Nigerien government has collaborated with Nigeria to prosecute counter-insurgency operations against Islamist militancy in a region beset by security crisis.
He also said that the ongoing efforts of the Chadian leader, Mahamat Déby to mediate in the face-off between ECOWAS and the junta should be encouraged.
