Catholic Archbishop Declares Triduum Prayer, Day of Fasting for Peace in Niger

“United with you in affection and prayer, we ask the Lord to grant his grace of peace to our country, Niger, and to the world,” Archbishop Lompo implored.

Colonel Amadou Abdramane among other nine officers announced the removal of President Mohammed Bazoum from power, citing the deteriorating security situation and bad governance as the reason behind the action.

The coup that led to the suspension of all political activities and the closure of borders attracted the attention of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) heads of state who convened a meeting in Abuja, Nigeria on July 30 issuing a seven-day ultimatum to the coup plotters to surrender power back to the President.

Defense officials at ECOWAS have been mulling over a possible military intervention in Niger. The West African nation is bordered by Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Mali, Libya, Benin, Algeria, and Chad. Most of these countries are wreaked by terrorism and are on the list of places where Christians are persecuted the most.

On Thursday, ECOWAS begun a closed-door meeting to discuss the situation of Niger after Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu announced that the West African leaders would “exhaust all avenues of engagement” to ensure that the country regains constitutional governance.

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Meanwhile, the President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has cautioned Tinubu against launching any military expedition against Niger’s coup plotters, noting that such a move could lead into bloodshed.

On August 8, Catholic Bishops in West Africa opposed any form of intervention in the Nigerian Coup saying, “West African countries have been ravished by terrorism and cannot handle another bloodbath.”