Nigerian Lawmakers Seek Diplomatic Solution to Niger’s Coup

Anthony Osae-Brown and Katarina Hoije
·2 min read
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(Bloomberg) -- Nigerian lawmakers urged diplomacy to reverse the coup in neighboring Niger after West African defense chiefs agreed to a plan for potential military intervention.

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The call on Saturday from Nigeria’s Senate to sidestep military action, at least for now, came a day before a deadline imposed by the Economic Community of West African States for the junta that seized power in Niger last week to restore democracy. Any military action would have to be approved by the Senate.

While condemning the coup, the Senate called on Ecowas leaders “to strengthen their political and diplomatic options and other means with a view to resolving the political impasse,” Senate President Godswill Akpabio said.

The lawmakers denied receiving a request from President Bola Tinubu to go to war against Niger.

“Rather Mr. President and Commander in Chief had expressed — and I quote — ‘a wish to respectively solicit the support of the National Assembly in the successful implementation of the Ecowas resolutions as outlined in the said communique,’” Akpabio said.

In a letter sent to the Senate on Friday, President Tinubu had requested lawmakers’ approval for a proposed “military build-up and deployment of personnel for military intervention to enforce compliance” of Ecowas’ July 30 demand that the coup leaders hand back power to the nation’s democratically elected leader within seven days, or face the threat of military action.

West Africa’s defense chiefs agreed to a plan for a potential military intervention in Abuja on Friday after a three-day meeting of defense officials of the regional bloc.

Nigeria has been in the forefront of a threat by Ecowas to use military force against the coup plotters in Niger, which it shares extensive borders with, and has been a key partner in the fight against Islamic insurgents in the northeast parts of the country.

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