According to The Punch, President Bola Tinubu called on ECOWAS leaders to strengthen unity and collective responses to military coups and regional instability at the bloc’s 68th ordinary session in Abuja.
Punch reports discussions referenced recent attempted and successful power grabs and the need to operationalise stronger preventive measures, including coordination on intelligence and border management.
The report situates the push within wider debates about how ECOWAS balances sanctions, diplomacy and security deployments.
Analysis/Echotitbits take: ECOWAS credibility now hinges on consistent enforcement and funding for its security architecture. Watch for concrete decisions on standby-force financing, timelines for deployments, and how the bloc handles Guinea‑Bissau and other flashpoints.
According to The Punch, Nigerian soldiers detained in Burkina Faso after a Nigerian Air Force C‑130 made a precautionary landing remained in custody days later, with Abuja pursuing diplomatic engagement to resolve the dispute.
Punch reported that the aircraft was on an overseas mission and landed due to a technical concern, while Burkina Faso’s authorities and the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) framed the incident as an unauthorised entry into their airspace.
Premium Times quoted the Nigerian Air Force saying the landing was “in accordance with standard safety procedures and international aviation protocols,” underscoring Abuja’s argument that the diversion was legitimate and safety-driven.
The Guardian’s international coverage noted the AES described the episode as an “unfriendly act,” reflecting the heightened regional tensions between ECOWAS states and the Sahel alliance.
Analysis/Echotitbits take: This is as much about regional politics as it is about aviation procedures. The AES–ECOWAS rift has created a trust deficit where even routine incidents can be interpreted as hostile moves. Watch for: the final terms of release/transfer, any formal diplomatic note exchanged, and whether Nigeria adjusts flight-clearance protocols when transiting AES-controlled airspace.
Source: The Punch — 14 Dec 2025 (https://punchng.com/nigerian-soldiers-spend-sixth-day-in-burkina-faso-detention/)
Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs has revealed that Abuja played a key role in averting large‑scale bloodshed during an attempted coup in neighbouring Benin Republic. He said discreet diplomatic engagement, coordination with regional leaders and support for Benin’s legitimate authorities helped defuse the crisis before it escalated into open conflict.
The minister noted that instability in Benin would have had spill‑over effects on Nigeria’s border communities, trade routes and security operations against cross‑border crime. Nigeria’s intervention is being presented as part of its longstanding commitment to democratic governance and stability in West Africa.
Source: Punch Newspapers – 11 Dec 2025
2025-12-12 10:00:00 Punch Newspapers – 11 Dec 2025 2025-12-11
The Senate approved President Bola Tinubu’s request to deploy troops to the Republic of Benin after an attempted coup reportedly disrupted public order in Cotonou. Lawmakers framed the move as part of Nigeria’s regional responsibility under ECOWAS.
Some senators reportedly sought fuller debate, but leadership argued emergency procedures justified swift approval given the potential regional spillover.
The African Democratic Congress commended the Federal Government for rapid intervention during the attempted coup in Benin Republic, but urged the same urgency in tackling insurgency and banditry within Nigeria.
The party also emphasised that foreign deployments should follow constitutional procedures, including National Assembly ratification.
The West African regional bloc ECOWAS has lifted sanctions it imposed against Mali over military coup that ousted ex-president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in August.
According to a statement on Tuesday, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said it was ending the sanctions.
“Heads of state and government have decided to lift sanctions” after noting positive steps towards a constitutional government” the statement read.
For many months, agrieived opposition and civil groups campaigned for the removal of Keita, a situation that finally led to a coup by the nations military.
The bloodless coup in the landlocked nation was not well received by the 15-nation group, fearing that a polarised nation under a military rule might further pose security and instability in the region and so imposed tough sanctions against one of Africa’s poorest countries.
A coup in 2012 was followed by an uprising in northern Mali which morphed into a bloody Islamist insurgency, claiming thousands of lives and threatening neighbouring Niger and Burkina Faso.
The ECOWAS sanctions, imposed on August 20, included border closures and a ban on commercial trade and financial flows but not basic necessities, drugs, equipment to fight coronavirus, fuel or electricity.
Under pressure, Mali’s junta endorsed a “charter” to restore civilian rule within 18 months and appointed a committee which chose 70-year-old retired colonel Bah Ndaw as interim president.
Despite this, ECOWAS insisted on the publication of the transition roadmap and warned it could not accept junta leader Colonel Assimi Goita, who is interim vice president, as Ndaw’s potential replacement.
The bloc has now taken into account “notable advances towards constitutional normalisation,” according to a French text of Tuesday’s statement, signed by President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana, who currently chairs ECOWAS.
It also called on “all bilateral and multilateral partners to support Mali.”
The communique also called for civilian and military officers detained during the coup to be released, and for the junta, which calls itself the National Council for the Salvation of the People (CNSP), to be dissolved.
The statement was issued a day after Ndaw appointed a government, headed by former foreign minister Moctar Ouane, in which junta members occupy key positions.
The “charter” also sets down the goals of re-establishing security across the nation, two-thirds of which are outside government control; of “restoring the state”; and of staging general elections, The Guardian reports.
Nigeria has pledged to within the limits of resources support the consolidation of democracy in West African countries.
President of the most populous black nation in the world, Muhammadu Buhari made the pledge on Thursday when he received the President of Burkina Faso, Roch Marc Christian Kabore, who was on a one-day official visit to Nigeria.
President Buhari at the meeting reiterated Nigeria’s support for Burkina Faso scheduled to hold elections in November this year.
“We are keeping tabs on situations in countries that have elections ahead. We know the countries that are calm and the ones where there have been unfortunate casualties. We will always support those who have elections ahead, so that things can go smoothly,” President Buhari said.
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari receives President of Burkina Faso, Roch Marc Christian Kabore, at theState House Abuja on Thursday, September 17, 2020.
President Kabore, who chairs the Economic, Trade and Liberalization Scheme of ECOWAS, said he was in Nigeria to discuss with President Buhari crucial sub-regional issues that include the convening of a joint commission meeting between Nigeria and Burkina Faso, reported trade difficulties among Nigeria, Ghana, Republic of Benin, and Niger Republic, and the way forward.
President Kabore commended President Buhari for what he called “strong leadership and support” displayed by the Nigerian leader in his capacity as Chairman of COVID-19 response in West Africa.
“I must also applaud your strong leadership against terrorism in the sub-region,” the Burkinabe Leader said.
On the situation in Mali, he expressed hope that the summit held in Accra, Ghana, on Tuesday, would yield positive results, stressing: “We need cohesion all over West Africa.”
Photos:
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari receives President of Burkina Faso, Roch Marc Christian Kabore, at theState House Abuja on Thursday, September 17, 2020.
A two-year transitional government led by a president chosen by the army has been proposed by Experts appointed by Mali’s military junta on Friday.
AFP reported that the proposed deal was contained in a document that has been submitted to hundreds of participants at a three-day forum in Bamako aimed at mapping a way forward for the troubled country.
The transitional government proposal stated that the president would be a “civil or military personality”.
The ongoing dialogue, which is in its second is between the young officers who overthrew President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita on August 18 and civilian representatives, many of whom had taken to the streets to demand for the resignation of the ousted president.
Hours after the August coup, the coup leaders pledged to restore civilian government and stage elections within a “reasonable time”.
However, a major concern for participants at the ongoing forum is how long a transition government should last and what role the army should play. These issues have now divided the discussants at the ongoing talks expected to conclude on Sunday.
While the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has insisted that the junta hand over power within 12 months, an influential imam viewed as the figurehead of the June 5 Movement which waged a protest campaign against Keita Mahmoud Dicko, has also backed a swift return to civilian rule.
For the first time since Malian Soldiers staged a mutiny and executed a coup to topple the almost seven year administration of Ibrahim Keita on Tuesday, Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari has called on the unconstitutional ‘authority’ in the landlocked Sahel nation to restore constitutional order forthwith.
President Buhari Thursday afternoon described the events in Mali as a setback for regional diplomacy, according to a statement posted on his verified Twitter page.
“The events in Mali are great setbacks for regional diplomacy, with grave consequences for the peace and security of West Africa. It is time for the unconstitutional ‘authority’ in Mali to act responsibly and ensure restoration of constitutional order, peace and stability”, the President said.
President Buhari, who was among a delegation of leaders in the West African bloc that visited Bamako, the Malian capital on July 24 with the hope of a successful intervention to broker peace between Keita’s government and opposition movement expressed fear that if sanity isn’t restored in Mali, the peace of the region may be at risk. International allies such as France, the United Nations (UN), and the European Union (EU) have also expressed this sentiment.
President Muhammadu Buhari paid a one-day visit to Mali on July 23, 2020.
“Nigeria strongly supports the efforts of ECOWAS Chairman, President Mahamadou Issoufou, for wider regional and continental consultations with ECOWAS, the AU and the UN, and the adoption of strong measures to bring speedy resolution to the situation.
“A politically stable Mali is paramount and crucial to the stability of the sub-region. We must all join efforts, ECOWAS, the AU, the UN and other stakeholders, and work together until sanity returns to Mali with the restoration of Civil Administration, the President said.
At the peace talk meeting in Mali on July 24 were ECOWAS Special Envoy, former President Goodluck Jonathan, and leader of the opposition, Imam Mahmoud Dicko and representatives of opposition alliance, M5 and Civil Society Organisations, who all briefed the high power delegate that include President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria, host President, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and Presidents Machy Sall of Senegal, Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana and Alassane Ouattara of Cote d’Ivoire.
A file photo of the presidents of Senegal, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria and Niger in a peace talk meeting with Malian President and leaders of a protest movement clamouring for the resignation of their President.
The coup in Mali happened only hours after former President Goodluck Jonathan, who is among a special ECOWAS envoy tasked with brokering peace in the troubled Mali, on Tuesday led the ECOWAS Mission team to Mali on a visit to President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
President Muhammadu Buhari receives ex-President Goodluck Jonathan at the State House Abuja, Tuesday August 18, 2020. Photo: Femi Adesina
“We told them that no international organization, including the African Union (AU), United Nations (UN), and others, would agree with their position. We continued to emphasize the need for dialogue,” Jonathan was quoted as saying while briefing President Buhari at the State House on Tuesday.
The European Union (EU) has on Tuesday condemned an “attempted coup” in Mali where Soldiers staged a mutiny, capturing the nation’s President, Prime Minister, Military Chiefs and political leaders.
A statement by the bloc’s diplomatic chief, Josep Borrell, read that: “The European Union condemns the attempted coup d’etat underway in Mali and rejects all unconstitutional change
“This can in no way be a response to the profound socio-economic crisis which has been hitting Mali for some months.”
The EU, which has operated a mission training the armed forces in Mali since 2013, joined the UN and regional bloc ECOWAS in calling for dialogue.
“A consensual outcome respecting constitutional principles, international law and human rights is the only way to avoid destabilising not only Mali but the whole region,” Borrell said in his statement
One of the leaders of the mutineering soldiers told AFP that “the president and the prime minister are under our control” after being “arrested” at Keita’s residence in the capital Bamako.
President Keita and Prime Minister Cisse are now being held in an army base in the town of Kati, an official at the prime minister’s office said.
The mutiny comes after months of protests calling for Keita’s resignation that have rocked the crisis-torn country.
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