Please Evacuate Us – Nigerians In Niger Beg FG Over Impending Attack

For fear of being caught up in the line of fire by any possible offensive against coup plotters by the West African regional bloc, ECOWAS forces to restore constitutional order, some Nigerians residing in Niger Republic have appealed to the Federal Government to facilitate their evacuation and return home.

According to them, the appeal became necessary to avoid a repeat of what happened in Sudan where many Nigerian students were trapped when fighting broke out between the government forces and rebels.

They also express fear of being subjected to xenophobic attacks by Nigeriens in retaliation for Nigeria’s role in rallying other ECOWAS member states to reject the unconstitutional change of government in which the coup plotters overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum.

On Thursday, the 15-member regional body resolved to deploy troops in Niger after the military junta refused to restore democracy.

The refusal of the junta was despite a series of sanctions imposed on the restive West African country.

ECOWAS president, Omar Touray after a meeting of ECOWAS Heads of States and Government in Abuja, said the bloc had directed the deployment of a “standby force” to restore democracy in Niger after the coup.

However, no details about the makeup, location, and proposed date for the deployment of the military intervention force were given.

Touray, while reading the resolutions of the ECOWAS on the military junta in Niger, also called on the African Union, partner countries, and institutions to support the decision taken by the sub-regional body.

The body said all efforts made to hold dialogues with the military junta had been defiantly rejected by the coup leaders as it condemned the continuous detention of Bazoum and his family members.

Associated Press had quoted a Western military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the issue, said representatives of the junta told the US Under Secretary of State, Victoria Nuland, of the threat to Bazoum during her visit to the country on Monday.

According to AP, a US official confirmed the account, also speaking on condition of anonymity, because they were not authorised to speak to the media.

Bazoum, who was deposed on July 26, is being held hostage at his residence.

The stand-off between ECOWAS and Nigerien coup plotters has plunged Nigerians in the francophone nation into fear over a possible clampdown on them by their hosts.

Some of the Nigerians resident in Niger said the Nigeriens sympathetic to the junta had started reprimanding them for President Bola Tinubu’s support for the ECOWAS directive that its forces be on standby to invade the country, rout the coup plotters and re-enthrone Bazoum.

Meanwhile, Kanyi Daily reported that an aide to President Bola Tinubu, Temitope Ajayi has said the decision of the planned military intervention in Niger against the coup leaders is purely an affair of ECOWAS and not that of his principal or Nigeria.