Former minister of aviation Femi Fani-Kayode has warned President Bola Tinubu-led ECOWAS against the planned invasion of Niger as the Bloc seeks to return the West African nation to democratic rule.
In a lengthy tweet seen by News About Nigeria on Monday morning, Mr Fani Kayode suggested that the bloc vigorously pursue the application of conflict resolution to buy time towards addressing worries related to its planned invasion of Niger.
According to Mr Fani-Kayode, the entirety of Nigeria’s western border will be exposed to terrorist attacks if Niger and her allies resolve to deliberately open the corridor for terrorist groups like ISWAP and ISIS
“In my view we should still vigorously pursue the application of conflict resolution mechanisms in order to buy time to address these questions,” Mr Fani-Kayode said.
“If Niger Republic and her allies deliberately open a corridor for the elements of ISIS, AQIM, ISWAP etc to move into Benin and Togo, ECOWAS’ weakest link, then the whole of Nigeria’s western borders, from Sokoto to Lagos, would be vulnerable to terrorist attacks,” he added.
He further warned that some of the terrorist elements have already began to penetrate into “Niger State, around Borgu and Shiriro, very close to Benin Republic and some states in the South West of Nigeria”.
His warning comes as the leadership of ECOWAS strongly considers an invasion as its last resolve to return Niger to democratic rule. ECOWAS move comes despite the Niger junta’s promise to return the country to democratic rule in three years.
Recall that ECOWAS and the Niger junta have failed to reach a truce regarding plans to return the country to democratic rule. Many prominent individuals have continued to advocate that dialogue, instead of force should be explored in efforts to return the country to democratic rule.
