Niger’s junta agrees to transition back to civilian rule
Niger’s ruling military has agreed to terms and conditions to transition back to civilian rule and will be presenting the agreement to the ECOWAS commission.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Togo, Robert Dussey, announced that the agreement on the content and timeline of the transition had been reached when he paid a visit to Niger on December 14, received by the Prime Minister of the transition.
Dussey represented President Faure Gnassingbé of Togo who is serving as a mediator to help resolve the crisis in Niger.
“A very enriching working session with the Prime Minister and my foreign affairs counterpart from Niger. We worked and agreed on the content of the timing of the transition,” the minister is quoted by local media ActuNiger.
“As soon as this work is done, we will, from now on, present this to the heads of state mediators and to the ECOWAS commission of this content that we agreed together," he added.
Togo’s Minister of Foreign Affairs said the finalization of the agreement will be at the beginning of January and a precise timeline of the transition will be determined and then presented to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
On July 26, 2023, soldiers from the Nigerien presidential guard staged a coup and detained President Mohamed Bazoum.
ECOWAS imposed sanctions on Niger including border closures by Niger's neighbours and a cut in power supplies by Nigeria, which led to a shortage of medicines and food, causing hardships.
On November 21, the transitional authority petitioned the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice to suspend the sanctions but the case was dismissed. "The military junta is not a recognised government and is not a member of the ECOWAS state and therefore lacks the locus to institute this action. The case is hereby dismissed," Justice Dupe Atoki ruled was quoted by international media Reuters.
