The President, Economic Community of West African States Commission, Omar Touray, has said the sub-regional body has neither declared war on the people of Niger Republic nor planned to invade the country.

Touray said this on Friday at a press conference on developments in Niger and ECOWAS Member States in transition at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja.

Leaders in the Economic Community of West African States Commission bloc said that they would keep all options on the table for a peaceful resolution to the crisis and ordered the activation of an ECOWAS standby force to restore constitutional order in Niger.

President Mohamed Bazoum was ousted July 26 in a military coup led by the former commander of Niger’s presidential guard, Abdourahamane Tchiane

He clarified that the ECOWAS would employ all measures, including the use of standby force to restore civil rule in Niger Republic.

Also, Touray noted that Niger Republic as part of the West African region bloc subscribed to its rules and regulations to deploy measures to support its fight against terrorism to ensure the restoration of democracy, peace, and security in the community.

He explained, “The deployment of the ECOWAS Standby Force is provided for in the 1999 Mechanism. Specifically, Article 25 expressly stipulates the conditions for the deployment of such a force. Among other conditions, the article provides that the force can be deployed ‘in the event of… an overthrow or an attempted overthrow of a democratically elected government.’

“Furthermore, the Supplementary Act of 2012 also provides for sanctions to be invoked against members that fail to honour their obligations to ECOWAS. It also provides for the use of legitimate force in the restoration of constitutional order. Niger Republic is a signatory to all these instruments. Those who challenge the legality of the decision of ECOWAS Heads of State need to do more research.

“In taking its decision of July 30 and August 10, 2023, the Authority of Heads of State and government was only activating these provisions. Unfortunately, this decision has been taken out of context and repeatedly misrepresented in the media as a declaration of war against Niger Republic or a planned invasion of the country.”

He added “It is even tragic that some influential persons in the community have promoted this narrative which has been hyped in the social media as the gospel truth. These persons have conveniently ignored the strenuous efforts of the community to engage with the junta to reverse the attempted coup.

“For the avoidance of doubt, let me state unequivocally that ECOWAS has neither declared war on the people of Niger nor is there a plan, as it is being purported, to ‘invade’ the country. The ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government has only activated a full-scale application of sanctions which includes the use of legitimate force to restore constitutional order. “

Stating his points further, the president said, “The deployment of the standby force is not an invasion. It is a deployment to restore constitutional order.”

Touray noted that preparations are in top gear to deploy standby force to Niger, urging the Niger junta to listen to ECOWAS as it will not accept coup d’etat.

He said “Nonetheless, preparations continue towards making the force ready for deployment. Consequently, the technical arms of the decision-making organs, which include the Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff have also been directed to prepare the community enforcement mechanism in case it becomes compelling to deploy the force.

“We believe that even now it is not too late for the military to reconsider its action and listen to the voice of reason as the regional leaders will not condone a coup d’état.

ECOWAS also wishes to remind them of their responsibility for the security and safety of President Bazoum, members of his family and government.

“At this juncture, let me reiterate that the real issue is the determination of the community to halt the spiral of coups d’etat in the region. We are all brothers irrespective of the artificial borders but the rule of law has to be upheld.”

Touray hoped that the diplomatic efforts from the United Nations and African Union would yield the desired outcome and make it unnecessary for the deployment of the force.

When asked if ECOWAS was under any pressure from external body, Touray said.

“ECOWAS is not under the dictate of any extra-regional power or interests.

Junta asks French envoy to leave Niger

In another development, the Niger junta has given the French ambassador, Sylvain Itte, 48 hours to leave Niger Republic.

According to a statement on Friday, ltte refused to honour an invitation from the Nigerien Foreign Affairs Minister.

Faced with “the refusal of the French ambassador in Niamey to respond to an invitation” from the minister for a meeting Friday and “other actions of the French government contrary to the interests of Niger”, the authorities decided to withdraw their approval of Itte and ask him to depart within 48 hours, the statement said.

This decision came a day after the French President, Emmanuel Macron, on Thursday demanded the release of the Nigerien President, Mohamed Bazoum, who was detained on July 26, 2023 in a military coup led by the former commander of Niger’s presidential guard, Abdourahamane Tchiani.

Macron also called for a return to democratic order in Niger, a former French colony whose elected leadership was toppled in a military coup in July.

Meanwhile, Niger has authorised Mali and Burkina Faso’s armed forces to intervene on its territory in case of an attack.

The three allies’ foreign ministers said they had met in the Nigerien capital, Niamey, to discuss boosting cooperation on security and other joint issues, according to a joint statement on Thursday.

According to Reuters, this may be a possible sign that the junta in Niger plans to keep resisting regional pressure to stand down.

The statement indicated that the ministers welcomed the signing by Niger junta leader, General Abdourahamane Tchiani, of two orders “authorising the Defence and Security Forces of Burkina Faso and Mali to intervene in Nigerien territory in the event of an attack.”