LAGOS AUGUST 24TH (NEWSRANGERS)-The West African bloc ECOWAS rejected the proposal by Niger’s mutinous soldiers for a three-year transition to democratic rule, with a commissioner describing the slow timeline as a provocation. The door for diplomacy with Niger’s junta remained open but the bloc is not going to engage in drawn-out talks that lead nowhere,…
LAGOS AUGUST 23RD (NEWSRANGERS)-A West African bloc mediator sent to meet Niger’s junta leaders following a July 26 coup says a peaceful way out of the crisis remains possible. Last week’s visit to Niger “has opened an avenue to start talking,” Abdulsalami Abubakar, a former Nigerian president, told reporters in the capital, Abuja. “Hopefully diplomacy…
LAGOS AUGUST 20TH (NEWSRANGERS)-Niger’s military ruler General Abdourahamane Tchiani, who ousted President Mohamed Bazoum and seized power in a coup, has proposed a return to democracy within three years. Neither the junta “nor the people of Niger want war and remain open to dialogue,” General Tchiani said during a televised address on Saturday evening. He…
LAGOS AUGUST 16TH (NEWSRANGERS)-President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday said the biting sanctions imposed by the Economic Community of West African States on the Niger junta would not be lifted despite the military leaders’ promise to negotiate with the regional bloc to resolve the crisis in the francophone country. Tinubu, who stated this when he received…
LAGOS AUGUST 16TH (NEWSRANGERS)-Nigeriens are preparing for a possible invasion by countries in the region, three weeks after mutinous soldiers ousted the nation’s democratically elected president. Residents in the capital, Niamey, are calling for the mass recruitment of volunteers to assist the army in the face of a growing threat by the West African regional…
LAGOS AUGUST 15TH (NEWSRANGERS)-The junta in Niamey, Niger Republic has started feeling the heat of the sanctions imposed on it by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The ECOWAS imposed the sanctions following the forceful take over of power from the democratically-elected president of the country, Mahamed Bazoum. The sanction are effected by…
LAGOS AUGUST 14TH (NEWSRANGERS)-Nigeria’s Intervention Team comprising prominent Islamic scholars in the country at the weekend met with the coup leaders in Niger where both parties agreed to intensify the option of dialogue in resolving the political crisis in that country. The Islamic Ulammas led by Sheik Bala Lau met with General Abdourahmane Tchiani for…
LAGOS AUGUST 10TH (NEWSRANGERS)-Niger’s junta told a top U.S. diplomat that they would kill deposed President Mohamed Bazoum if neighboring countries attempted any military intervention to restore his rule, two Western officials told The Associated Press. They spoke to the AP shortly before the West African bloc ECOWAS said it had directed the deployment of…