Senators rejected President Bola Tinubu’s plea for authorization to send Nigerian troops to the Niger Republic as part of an ECOWAS deployment to restore the nation’s democratically elected president.
On July 26, a coup organized by Mohamed Bazoum’s presidential guards resulted in his removal as president.
Four days later, in Abuja, the leaders of ECOWAS handed the coup leaders a seven-day deadline to restore constitutional order or risk the use of force. The regional organization slapped sanctions on the coup leaders, and Nigeria cut off energy and closed its borders to the impoverished West African country.
However, the senators turned down the president’s proposal at an executive session on Saturday.
Senators decided to draught a resolution denouncing the coup and praising ECOWAS leaders for their efforts to reinstate constitutional order in Niger, but they ruled out using military force, according to a senator who was present at the meeting.
