The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has lifted all commercial and economic sanctions imposed on the Republic of Niger, effectively today.
The country last year overthrew its democratically elected leader, Mohammed Bazoum, an action which demanded a dire declaration from the ECOWAS which had zero tolerance for unconstitutional changes in government.
Beforehand, Niger together with Mali and Burkina Faso had announced that they were exiting the regional bloc owing to inhumane sanctions.
But at an extraordinary summit on February 24, 2024, in Abuja, Nigeria, ECOWAS stated that it was lifting all pronouncements against Niger while expecting that established protocols of free movement within the bloc will remain the same.
The President of the ECOWAS commission, Omar Alieu Touray explained that the decision is aimed at addressing existential threats facing the region and called on the three junta-led nations that have quit the bloc to repeal their decision.
However,President Bola Tinubu, Nigeria’s President who doubles as the chairperson of the ECOWAS heads of state expressed that the existential threats faced by the sub-region demands that leaders re-examine their approach to constitutional order.
