Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu ordered the lifting of sanctions previously imposed on Niger and opened its borders to the post-coup country, Nigeria's presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, said.
The lifting of sanctions, according to the government, includes the unfreezing of all Niger assets frozen by the ECOWAS Central Bank, the resumption of all financial transactions between the countries, and the restoration of financial aid to Niger.
The presidential decree also lifts the travel ban on Nigerien government officials and their families.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has also approved the lifting of financial and economic sanctions against Guinea, Ngelale added.
The press secretary stressed that the presidential order was in line with the decisions taken by the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government at its extraordinary summit on February 24 to lift sanctions against Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea.
In January, Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso announced their departure from ECOWAS, citing the bloc's failure to ensure their security and the sanctions it imposed after coups in those nations. Last September, these three countries established the Alliance of Sahel States, aimed at collective defense.
ECOWAS levied political, economic, and trade sanctions last year after a faction of military officers from Niger's presidential guard staged a coup in late July 2023, ousting President Mohamed Bazoum. The regional body also threatened a joint military intervention in Niger to reinstate Bazoum.
Previously, ECOWAS had imposed sanctions on Mali in 2020 and Burkina Faso in 2022 in response to military takeovers in those countries.