Ivory Coast’s President Alassane Ouattara has weighed in on the coup situation in Niger Republic, emphasizing that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) response is not Nigeria acting against Niger, but rather a collective stance of ECOWAS against Niger. President Ouattara’s comments came during a press briefing following the ECOWAS Extraordinary Meeting held in Abuja on Thursday.

He said, “As you are aware that ECOWAS has taken many decisions in the past legal and factual about coup d’etat and the community has always condemned coup d’etat. 

“The coup d’etat has affected many countries in the sub-region ECOWAS in the past in Liberia, Sierra Leone, recently in Gambia, in Guinea Bissau and today we have a similar situation in Niger. I would like to say that ECOWAS cannot accept this. This is not a matter of Nigeria against Niger, not at all.

“The decision that we have made today, and I hope it won’t be implemented immediately, is a decision of ECOWAS. All the Head of States think that we’ve tried to dialogue [with the military junta] We’ve sent delegation, high personalities like former president Abdusalami Abubakar, the sultan of Sokoto, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi and many other personalities in this important country to talk to the people of Niger,” he said.

However, the junta’s defiance and the continued detention of President Mohamed Bazoum and his family led ECOWAS to view this as a terrorist act. Ouattara underscored the importance of action to preserve ECOWAS’s credibility, stating that the coup leaders should focus on combating terrorism rather than kidnapping democratically elected leaders.

In response to the situation, ECOWAS, under the leadership of President Omar Alieu Touray, declared the activation of its standby force to restore constitutional order in Niger Republic. The decision was read out during the ECOWAS Extraordinary meeting. ECOWAS also called upon the African Union (AU), partner countries, and institutions to support its resolution. The organization reiterated its commitment to peaceful means for restoring constitutional order while not ruling out the potential use of force as a last resort.

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu, who chaired the crisis meeting, emphasized the importance of diplomatic negotiations and dialogue as the foundation of the approach to resolving the crisis. He expressed cautious optimism for a peaceful solution, while also noting that the option of using force remains on the table if necessary.

The details of any potential military deployment by ECOWAS member states and its implications for Niger were yet to be clarified at the time of reporting.