Refugee crisis, constitutionality, as Nigerians react to ECOWAS activation of military force on Niger

[By VICTOR NZE]

Barely hours after the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) ordered its standby force to restore constitutional order in Niger Republic following the July 26 military coup in that country which ousted the civilian president, Mohammed Bazoum, and continues to hold him captive in the country, Nigerians in their numbers have taken to the micro-blogging platform, Twitter (now X) to register their displeasure over the decision.

According to them, Northern Nigeria will bear the brunt of any military action in Niger Republic which could translate into a massive refugee crisis for Nigeria.

Others further question the constitutionality of any planned order from President Bola Tinubu for engagement or deployment of Nigerian troops to Niger since the senate has yet to approve it.

This is also as unconfirmed reports claim that Nigeria’s Embassy in Niamey has been set ablaze by angry Nigeriens protesting the decision by ECOWAS to attack their country.

Before now, several northern advocacy groups had warned the Nigerian government of sanctioning military action in Niger by ECOWAS citing their proximity to the hotspot as reason, just as they called for dialogue with the military leaders to resolve the crisis.

Earlier, Thursday, President of ECOWAS, Omar Alieu Touray approved military intervention in Niger Republic while reading out the resolution of the sub-regional body on the Niger coup at the end of the extraordinary meeting in Abuja.

According to the sub-regional body, all efforts made to dialogue with Niger Republic’s military junta have been “defiantly rejected by the coup leaders,” and that they condemn the continuous detention of the ousted former president of Niger, Mohamed Bazoum and his family members.

ECOWAS urged the African Union (AU), partner countries and institutions to support the resolution taken by it, even as it decried that several efforts have been made to have peaceful dialogue with the military junta in Niger but all were rebuffed.

The sub-regional body further directed its ‘Committee of the Chief of Defence Staff to activate the ECOWAS standby force with all its elements immediately.’

It, however, declared willingness to embrace diplomacy in resolving the political crisis in the country.

“Direct the committee of the Chief of Defense Staff to activate the ECOWAS Stan-by force with all its elements immediately.

“Order the deployment of the ECOWAS stand-by force to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger,” the ECOWAS resolutions read in parts.

Speaking earlier, Tinubu who is the current ECOWAS Chairman, said: We prioritise diplomatic negotiations and dialogue as the bedrock of our approach. Regrettably, the seven-day ultimatum we issued during the first summit has not yielded the desired outcome. We must engage all parties involved, including the coup leaders, in earnest discussions to convince them to relinquish power and reinstate President Bazoum.

“It is our duty to exhaust all avenues of engagement to ensure a swift return to constitutional governance in Niger.”

However, the decision to adopt military action on Niger’s junta has not gone down well with Nigerians, as many question the authority of Nigeria’s deployment of its military against the backdrop of the senate not endorsing any armed involvement by President Bola Tinubu in that country.

It would be recalled that senate president, Godswill Akpabio stated just before the National Assembly had gone on annual recess, that the lawmakers have not approved President Tinubu deployment of the country’s military in Niger.

Following a reported heated closed-door debate among senators, Friday, over a letter addressed to the Upper Chambers outlining plans by the Nigerian Government in response to the coup in the Niger Republic, Senate President, Godswill Akpabio has claimed that the lawmakers are not backing President Bola Tinubu on a quest for war.

President Tinubu had written the senate, informing the Upper Chambers of a proposed military action coded as ‘reactivating of the border drilling exercise,’ and other sanctions against the junta in Niger.

Tinubu’s letter to the Senate was read on the floor of the senate by its President, Godswill Akpabio.

The letter read: “Political situation in Niger. Following the unfortunate political situation in the Niger Republic culminating in the overthrow of its President, ECOWAS under my leadership condemned the coup in its entirety and resolved to seek the return of the democratically elected government.

“In a bid to restore peace, ECOWAS convened a meeting and came out with a communique: Closure and monitoring of all land borders with the Niger Republic and reactivating of the border drilling exercise; Cutting off electricity supply to the Niger Republic; mobilising international support for the implementation of the provisions of the ECOWAS communiqué; Preventing the operation of commercial and special flights into and from Niger Republic; blockade of goods in transit to Niger, especially from Lagos and eastern seaports; Embarking on sensitisation of Nigerians and Nigeriens on the imperative of these actions, particularly via social media.

However, during a closed-door debate over the letter, the senators were heavily divided over a planned military action, as majority reportedly warned against it.

Reacting to Tinubu’s letter, Akpabio said the senate has not received any communication from Tinubu to engage in war with Niger Republic concerning the coup in that neighbouring country.

Akpabio who made the confirmation on last Saturday after an executive session of the Senate ahead of the last lap of the screening of Ministers designate, explained that Tinubu who is also the ECOWAS Chairman, only requested the National Assembly to give its support to the ECOWAS resolutions.

Senate thereafter urged the ECOWAS Parliament to condemn the coup in its entirety, while seeking a permanent solution to the crisis.

Reacting, Nigerians insist that the planned deployment of ECOWAS Standby Force to restore constitutional order in Niger ‘is a terrible decision,’ and in direct conflict with the constitution which empowers the National Assembly with such powers.

They argue that the country’s armed forces should reject deployment or drafting into any joint military operation in Niger.

While Lagos-based civil rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong questioned the constitutionality of war engaging Nigerian troops in a war against Niger without the approval of National Assembly, governorship candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 election, Mr Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour warned against the ECOWAS decision on the grounds that Northern Nigeria will bear the brunt of a war with Niger more than any other country on the sub-region.

“Do not drag us to war! Nigeria and Nigerians will bear the full brunt of this unpopular, anti-people, pro west imperialist war. Most especially, Northern Nigeria, which is dealing with enough problems already. Dialogue and diplomacy are the only ways to go, especially as it was a bloodless coup,” wrote Mr. Rhodes –Vivour.

“The deployment of ECOWAS Standby Force to “restore constitutional order” in Niger is a terrible decision. Since the Nigerian Senate has passed a resolution against the involvement of our military in Niger, it will be unconstitutional for our Armed Forces to participate in it,” said Mr. Effiong.

Continuing, Effiong wrote via his Twitter handle (@InibeheEffiong):

“As at today, Mr. Tinubu does not have the constitutional authority to deploy a single member of the Nigerian Armed Forces as part of the proposed ECOWAS Standby Force to invade Niger Republic.

“It is not only when a state of war between Nigeria and another country is declared that parliamentary approval is required. Parliamentary approval is also required for all combat duties and missions by our Armed Forces abroad.

“While Section 5 (4)(a)  of the 1999 Constitution mandates that the approval of National Assembly must be sought for declaration of a state of war between Nigeria and another country, Section 5(4)(b) of the Constitution specifically provides as follows: “except with the prior approval of the Senate, no member of the armed forces of the Federation shall be deployed on combat duty outside Nigeria.”

“The fact that Nigeria currently chairs the ECOWAS, and is a signatory to the treaty of ECOWAS does not change the above constitutional stipulation. Every treaty entered into by Nigeria is subject to the Nigerian Constitution.

“Since the Nigerian Senate had passed a resolution and ruled out military option in the resolution of the Niger crisis, any attempt by Mr. Tinubu to deploy a single member of our Armed Forces to take part in the invasion of Niger under any guise or name will be not only reckless, but a gross misconduct which can be treated by the National Assembly as an impeachable offence.

“It is unfortunate that ECOWAS leaders have given in to imperialist demand by France to go to war with Niger. They should have asked themselves why the coup seems to enjoy popular support of the citizens of Niger?

“I believe that the reasonable way out of this crisis is diplomacy. Nigeria is not in a position to go to war. “Our Armed Forces are overstretched and underpaid. We are still struggling to overcome internal insecurity and insurgency.

“A country that is going through terrible financial crisis has no business going to war.”

Meanwhile, more reactions are captured by Oracle Today newspaper, Thursday, below:

Peter obi son (@iconicone31) wrote:

Nigerians soldiers must resist the urge to go into this unmerited war, baba is close to his grave please don’t go waste your precious life for nothing.

OFFSIDE “Enigma”. (@Sylvia_Ikeji) wrote:

I suspect that w the type of loyalty between Northern Nigeria & Niger, there will be disobedience & betrayal among the ranks of the Nigerian army.

Plus the election results in military formations.

Did the INEC select even do any lazy thinking? Plenty things to have considered.

Oma (@omacollins) wrote:

Our senators, well done oh, carry 2 million take massage yourselves oh, oya Nigerian army

@HQNigerianArmy

just manage this 1200k, go for this small war, we go hail you people when you come back. Hmmmm, haaàaàaaaaa.

David Hundeyin (@DavidHundeyin) wrote:

Any Nigerian soldier who obeys any order to shed Nigérien blood deserves every single part of the shege that Nigeria will yet show them.

None of you should enter my DM again if you obey this order from this group of tribal chiefs working for the French colonial administrator.

Florix (@florixini) wrote:

If you can say this in Yoruba Language, I can assure you that Ecowas will backdown.

bold (@Abodimmachi) wrote:

This is how Nigeria when to war with Igbos in 1967 killing their own kind because of white people

XO (@Captain_drizzy) wrote:

If northern Nigeria wants peace it’s already late they have to prepare themselves

Unknown wrote:

What America & France have on Tinubu must be so strong. The ECOWAS slaves loyal to the West did not learn a thing from Libya. I pity the 7 states in northern Nigeria that shares borders with Niger. Besides decimating their economies, they’ll take direct hit from fleeing warlords.

There’ll be heavy casualties on all sides. Nigerien troops & civilians will die; Nigerian troops & civilians will die as well. Then the international dimension: Russia, North Korea & China are on standby, observing.

Niger Republic was a bloodless coup. No gunshots was fired, & no one died. Should the ECOWAS strike first, it’ll lead to a war on a staggering scale. The aftermaths may bring the world directly into WWIII.

I’m an Empath & a Pacifist. But I have no empathy left in my individual tank.

Unknown wrote:

Today, Tinubu is leading a regional war against Northern Nigeria and its economy. The same north that helped rigged him into power. That’s the payback.