Niger’s military rulers have announced that they have closed the country’s airspace, warning that any attempt to violate it would meet with an “energetic and immediate response”.
“Faced with the threat of intervention, which is becoming clearer through the preparation of neighbouring countries, Niger’s airspace is closed from this day on Sunday… for all aircraft until further notice,” the country’s new rulers said in a statement.
The announcement came as the deadline from the West African bloc of ECOWAS for them to hand back power to the democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum was due to expire.
ECOWAS, last Sunday, issued Niger’s new military rulers with an ultimatum to stand down within the week or face possible military intervention.
Bazoum was overthrown on 26 July when members of his own guard detained him at the presidency.
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Tinubu had met with Governors of Nigerian States that share boundaries with the Niger Republic.
The States represented at the meeting on Sunday at the presidential villa were Sokoto, Kebbi, Yobe, Katsina, and Jigawa, though the issues discussed were not immediately known at the time of this report,
The meeting was part of wider consultations by the President on the political instability in Niger.
The sit-down also coincided with the deadline from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to the Nigerien military to reinstate deposed President Mohamed Bazoum.
Meanwhile, at the meeting held on Sunday, Tinubu said the organization had resolved to use force, as a last option, if the coup leaders in Niger did not meet its demands within the stipulated time frame.
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The Northern Senators Forum (NSF) had asked Tinubu to exhaust all diplomatic means in resolving the crisis in the West African country.
The forum warned that deploying Nigerian troops to the Niger Republic will hurt seven northern states —Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina, Zamfara, Jigawa, Yobe and Borno —sharing borders with the country.
While many stakeholders have called for a diplomatic resolution to the political impasse in Niger, it is not clear what steps the regional body would take as the deadline draws to a close.