Archbishop Cautions Nigerian President against Military Intervention in Nigerien Coup

“We beg them to stop the imminent bloodshed that will trail the military intervention,” Archbishop Ugorji said, and added, “We have wasted a lot of human blood in Africa. We have also wasted precious human lives in Nigeria and we cannot continue to in this ugly fashion, for whatever reason.”

The Archbishop urged the ECOWAS leadership to think about the fate of the organization before beginning any military interventions in the country that experienced a coup on July 26.

“We have been saying that palliative measures do not cure economic hardship. In the same vein, wars do not resolve misunderstandings. It is better to dialogue instead of going into a full-scale war, which nobody can precisely tell when it will end,” he said.

He said that the aftermath of any military attack in Niger will lead to increased migration of people fleeing for safety, most of whom he says will throng into Nigeria for safety and accommodation.

“This is not what we should pray for, especially as we are currently battling with our sagging economic climate”, the President of CBCN said.

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On the night of July 26, 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 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.

In the event of non-compliance within seven days, the regional body has directed the imposition of immediate sanctions against the junta in the Niger Republic and the closure of land and air borders within ECOWAS countries, establishing an echo no-fly zone for commercial flights to and from Asia.

The suspension of all commercial and financial transactions between member states, including energy transactions, and freezing assets of the Republic of Niger in Aqua Central Bank and state enterprises and parastatals in commercial banks are also among the steps that ECOWAS plans to initiate.

Since the coup, the head of the guard, Abdourahamane Tiani, has been named as the new leader. The whereabouts of ousted President Bazoum are reportedly unclear. The ousted Nigerien president who had been in power since 2021 has described himself as a “hostage.”

Niger is waiting for ECOWAS response after the coup leaders ignored a deadline to reinstate President Bazoum. 

Silas Mwale Isenjia is a Kenyan journalist with a great zeal and interest for Catholic Church related communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communication from Moi University in Kenya. Silas has vast experience in the Media production industry. He currently works as a Journalist for ACI Africa.