Coup: Niger’s Military Junta Agrees To Negotiate With ECOWAS

General Abdourahmane Tchiani, the leader of the coup in the Niger Republic, has agreed to hold talks with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) following a meeting with Nigerian Islamic scholars led by Sheikh Abdullahi Bala Lau, the national leader of Jama’atu Izalatil Bid’ah Wa Iqamatus Sunnah (JIBWIS).

According to Ali Mahamane Lamine Zeine, the prime minister of the Niger Republic, General Tchiani authorised negotiations with ECOWAS and expressed confidence that they would happen soon.

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“We have reached a consensus, and the president of our nation has approved of the dialogue. We hope they (ECOWAS) will come here to meet us in the coming days to discuss how the sanctions imposed against us will be lifted. They will now return and tell the Nigerian President what they have heard from us.

According to a report in Voice of Nigeria (VON), the Nigerian Intervention Team met with the coup leaders in Niger over the weekend, and all parties agreed to strengthen the possibility of dialogue in resolving the nation’s political issue. The team also included prominent Islamic scholars from the country.

The Nigerian Intervention Team met with the coup leaders in Niger over the weekend, according to a report in Voice of Nigeria (VON), and all parties agreed to strengthen the possibility of dialogue in resolving the nation’s political issue. The team also included prominent Islamic scholars from the country.

According to reports, the Islamic Ulammas under the leadership of Sheikh Bala Lau met with General Abdourahmane Tchiani in the capital city of Niamey, Niger, for several hours to discuss all the issues, including the demand by ECOWAS leaders for the reinstatement of former President Bazoum.

President Bola Tinubu approved the clerics’ request to intercede, according to Bala Lau, National Chairman of Jamatul Izalatu Bida Waikamatu Sunnah, who said the clerics were in Niger on his behalf.

Sheikh Lau claimed that the team had already communicated their opinion that the political deadlock in Niger should be resolved through discussion to President Tinubu, who also serves as the chairman of the authority of the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government.

As a result, he informed General Tchiani that his trip to Niger was intended to engage in productive discussion in order to persuade him and the other military figures who were involved in the coup to choose a road of peace rather than violence in order to end the issue. General Tchiani responded and thanked them for coming, saying he appreciated their help. The possibility of ending the conflict through diplomacy and peace, he declared, was open to consideration.

The coup leaders, according to General Tchiani, were angry that the ECOWAS leaders did not hear their side of the story before giving them an ultimatum to resign.