Sanctions: Niger Republic Sues President Tinubu, Other ECOWAS Leaders, Ruling Fixed For Dec 7

 

The Economic Community of West African States Court in Abuja has fixed December 7, 2023, to deliver its ruling on interim measures in a case between the State of Niger Republic and seven others, and the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS and two others.

The regional court fixed the date after hearing both parties during its sitting held on Monday, November 21, 2023, in Abuja, Nigeria.

During the hearing, the applicants, who were represented by Mr. Moukaila Yaye and five other solicitors, contended that the sanctions enforced by the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, under the leadership of Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, had caused unfavourable consequences for the Nigerien people.

These included a scarcity of food, medication, and electricity as a result of Nigeria closing borders and cutting off supplies of electricity.

The applicant requested interim court orders that would require the Authority of Heads of State and Government to immediately suspend the sanctions, according to a statement released by the court on Wednesday.

Also on Wednesday, the ECOWAS Parliament had appealed to President Tinubu and other Heads of State and Government in the region to lift the sanctions imposed on the Niger Republic.

The Chief Whip of the Nigerian Senate, Senator Ali Ndume, had disclosed this while addressing journalists after the opening session of the parliament on Wednesday.

The lawmaker had added that the subsisting sanctions also affected Nigeria and seven other bordering countries Niger Republic.

Recall that The Heads of States in ECOWAS since July imposed sanctions on the Niger Republic to protest the ouster of President Mohamed Bazoum by certain military officers led by erstwhile Presidential Guard Commander, General Abdourahamane Tchiani.

Ndume said: “Children and women have been exposed to untold hardship. No meaningful progress has been made in resolving this issue. We are appealing to ECOWAS states to lift the sanction and open the closed border between Niger and Nigeria because it is the poor that are suffering. Let me say this is a collective decision by concerned citizens.

“This press conference is simply an appeal to the ECOWAS Heads of State to consider the humanitarian situation and resolve the political impasse in Niger.”