By Emma Emeozor with agency reports
The African Union (AU) has suspended Niger Republic from all its activities following the decision of the military junta that toppled President Mohamed Bazoum to heed the call by ECOWAS to restore democratic rule and return to the barracks.
The continental body also asked its members to avoid any action that might legitimize the junta led by General Abdourahamane Tchiani. The junta had announced that it would take up to three years for it to return the country to democratic rule, thus ruling out the restoration of Bazoum to office.
In a communiqué yesterday, the AU Peace and Security Council said that it had noted ECOWAS’ decision to activate a standby force and asked the AU Commission to assess the economic, social, and security implications of deploying such a force, Reuters reported. AU has already endorsed the sanctions ECOWAS imposed on Niger.
The Council also said it had asked the AU Commission to compile a list of members of the military junta and their supporters for targeted sanctions and “the application of individual punitive measures”. The resolutions in yesterday’s statement were adopted at a council meeting held on Aug. 14, it said.
The AU said it strongly rejected any external interference in the situation by any actor or country outside of Africa, including engagements by private military companies, a likely reference to Russian mercenary group Wagner, which is active in neighbouring Mali.
AU insists that the coup leaders must release Bazoum, who is currently under house arrest. Tiani, at the weekend, said coup leaders remained open to dialogue. But ECOWAS Commissioner Abdel-Fatau Musah told Reuters on Monday that the bloc’s position remained clear.
“Release Bazoum without preconditions, restore constitutional order without further delay,” he said. He spoke via WhatsApp in response to a query about the proposed elections delay. The outcome of “ongoing informal discussions” would determine whether ECOWAS would send another mediation mission to Niger, he added. However, the popular opinion in Nigeria has opposed military intervention as a means of restoring democracy in the troubled country. Instead, Nigerians, particularly, the northern region is canvassing dialogue as the most acceptable option to resolve the impasse between the junta and ECOWAS.
Last week, Bazoum told a delegation of ECOWAS led by Nigeria’s former Head of State, Gen Abdulsalami Abubakar, that he challenges he has faced since he was detained by the military.
“We met him and heard his side of the story. He told us what was done to him and the challenges he is facing. We will communicate this to ECOWAS leaders. Doors for talks are now open for a lasting solution.” Abubakar told journalists.
Before the meeting between Bazoum and the ECOWAS delegation, CNN had quoted the ousted leader as saying in a series of text messages to a friend that he had been “deprived of all human contact”, with no one supplying him food or medicine.
Bazoum said he had been living without electricity, after Nigeria cut off electric power in response to the coup. He also said all of the perishable food he was supplied with has since gone bad, and he was now eating dry pasta and rice.