Senior Nigerian Advocate and human rights activist Femi Falana has called on ECOWAS, the Economic Community of West African States, to restore electricity in Niger and limit the sanctions imposed on the country in response to the recent military coup.
Falana emphasized that ordinary Nigeriens are the ones who suffer the most from the punitive measures, including the electricity cut-off, noting that the military leaders have since switched to generators.
"In implementing the economic sanctions, the Bola Tinubu's [the Nigerian President and the chairman of ECOWAS] administration has cut electricity supply to Niger Republic with dire consequences for the civilian population. In other words, the masses have been thrown into darkness even though they were not involved in the planning and execution of the coup d'etat," he was quoted as saying by the media.
The activist also noted that as "the disconnection of electricity has no negative effect on the members of the military regime, President Tinubu should direct the Nigerian Electricity Regulation Commission to restore light to Niger Republic forthwith," adding that all sanctions should be limited to the country's military leaders.
On Tuesday, former top officials of Niger also urged ECOWAS to lift sanctions from the coup-hit country and adhere to diplomatic approaches to crisis resolution.
EU Special Representative for the African Sahel Emanuela Del Re expressed satisfaction the following day with the impact of the ECOWAS sanctions against Niger.
ECOWAS gave coup leaders one week to reinstate Bazoum and "restore constitutional order", hinting that it would resort to military intervention otherwise. Its ultimatum expired last Sunday.