Niger coup: Nigerian President Bola Tinubu writes to Senate seeking support for military intervention

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu wrote a letter to the country's Senate, on Friday, seeking support from its members for military intervention in neighbouring Niger, following a military coup against President Mohamed Bazoum.

Tinubu requested for “military buildup and deployment of personnel for military intervention to enforce compliance of the military junta in Niger should they remain recalcitrant”, as per The Cable reports.

West African military chiefs have acquiesced ona plan for a possible intervention in Niger as a deadline for the country's junta to restore civilian rule approaches, an official from regional bloc the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said Friday.

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On Sunday, ECOWASgave the junta, that toppled the democratically elected government of President Mohamed Bazoum in a military coup, a week to either restore him or face the potential use of force.

ECOWAS military chiefs were meeting in Nigeria's capital Abuja to discuss ways to respond to the crisis.

"All the elements that will go into any eventual intervention have been worked out, including the resources needed, and including the how and when we are going deploy the force," said ECOWAS commissioner Abdel-Fatau Musah.

"We want diplomacy to work, and we want this message clearly transmitted to them that we are giving them every opportunity to reverse what they have done," he added.

Niger's junta has promised to reply "immediately" to any foreign intervention and has been holding Bazoum and his family in his official residence in the capital Niamey for nine days.

Military intervention in Niger will be 'declaration of war' against us, say Mali and Burkina Faso

Neighbouring countries of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, in a joint statement, said that any military intervention in Niger to restore deposed President Mohamed Bazoum would be considered a "declaration of war" against their countries too.

"Any military intervention against Niger would be tantamount to a declaration of war against Burkina Faso and Mali," the two countries warned in a joint statement. It comes after West African leaders threatened to use "force" in order to reinstate Bazoum. The leaders have also spoken of possible sanctions on the putschists.

Mali and Burkina Faso said the "disastrous consequences of a military intervention in Niger... could destabilise the entire region".

The two refused to apply the "illegal, illegitimate and inhumane sanctions against the people and authorities of Niger".

(With inputs from agencies)

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