[JUST IN] NIGER: ECOWAS commence meeting in Abuja (VIDEO)

The Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, has commenced it’s meeting on the coup in Niger Republic at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The meeting is being hosted by President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria with other regional leaders in attendance.

https://twitter.com/DOlusegun/status/1689610379716956160?t=VcWro2VguDK55XKjCF9zbw&s=19

The 2nd Extra-Ordinary summit on the coup in Niger has President Julius Maada Bio (Sierra Leone), President.Umaro Mokhtar Sissoco (Guinea Bissau), President Everiste Ndayishimiye (Burundi), President Alassane Ouattara (Cote d’Ivoire), President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani (Mauritinia), and President Nana Akofo-Ado (Ghana) in attendance.

Others are President Macky Sall (Senegal), President Patrice Talon (Benin), President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé Eyadéma (Togo) and President Adama Barrow (The Gambia).

News Direct had earlier reported that leaders from the West African bloc, ECOWAS, would meet on Thursday for an emergency summit on the coup in Niger after the country’s military chiefs defied an ultimatum to restore the elected president.

Two weeks after the coup that toppled Mohamed Bazoum, ECOWAS said it was seeking a diplomatic solution but has not ruled out using force to resolve the crisis.

Important decisions are expected from the gathering in Nigeria’s capital Abuja, according to a statement from the 15-nation organisation on Tuesday.

Struggling to stem a cascade of coups among its members since 2020, the bloc gave the troops who seized power on July 26 until last Sunday to reinstate Bazoum or face the potential use of force.

But the coup leaders remained defiant and the deadline passed without action.

In their latest show of resistance against international pressure, the military leaders named a new government, according to a decree read out on national television on Thursday.