On the of 26 July 2023, a military putsch occurred in Niger when the then commander of the Nigerien presidential guard, Abdourahamane Tchiani, aborted the incumbency of President Mohamed Bazoum who was elected by popular mandate as the 10th president of Niger in April 2021. Subsequent to this Unconstitutional Change of Government (UCG), on the […]
ECOWAS leaders at the extraordinary summit in Abuja, Nigeria. [PHOTO CREDIT: Twitter page of ECOWAS]
It is therefore incontrovertible that despite the success of the coup, the 26 July military intervention remains a against the Constitution of Republic of Niger.ECOWAS is one of the African Union Regional Economic Communities and was established pursuant to the Treaty of Lagos on the 28 May 1975, with a revised treaty signed in July 1993. Under the ECOWAS treaties, which Niger as a founding member signed, member states of ECOWAS agreed to be bound by the provisions of its treaties.
It is therefore submitted that within the ECOWAS arrangement, forceful military intervention in the situation like the Niger’s is consistent with its Protocols. The ECOWAS military intervention in the Gambia in January 2017 to enforce the outcome of the 2016 presidential election in the country where President Yahya Jammeh lost to Adama Barrow but refused to hand over power to the latter, is a pertinent precedent on this.
“Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of collective or individual self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken the measures necessary to maintain international peace and security.” For the purpose of this article, the starting point is the provision of article 4 of the CA which explicitly states that, as a matter of principle, the:
There have been several other AU declarations, Communiques and Statements reiterating the Union’s commitment to democracy, rule of law and zero tolerance for UCG. Indeed, in May 2022, the AU Assembly of Head of States, via a declaration, reiterated its
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