Niger Coup: Ghanaians And Other African Migrants Living In Fear Over Possible Military Intervention By ECOWAS

• It has emerged that the military junta in Niger have circulated a video warning Ghanaians and other African migrants in the country over a possible ECOWAS-led military intervention
• The president of the Ghanaian community in Niger, Seidu Abudu, said the message in the video is that immigrants will be attacked if ECOWAS deploys troops
• According to him, it is clear that the citizens in Niger support the military junta that ousted President Mohamed Bazoum

Ghanaians and other African immigrants in Niger say they are living in fear over a possible military action by ECOWAS.

The president of the Ghanaian community in Niger, Seidu Abudu, has disclosed that the junta has circulated a video that expressly warns African migrants they may be used as collateral in case ECOWAS deploys a standby force.

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Seidu Abudu, who was speaking on behalf of Ghanaians in Niger, was commenting on news that ECOWAS is determined to deploy a standby military force from 11 member states to restore democratic order.

He told PM Express on Joy News TV on Wednesday, August 16, 2023, that ECOWAS could escalate the situation in the country.

"We foreigners who are living here, already we have one video that they said that if ECOWAS makes any move, they are going to attack foreigners in case of any deployment...and that one it's for sure. So they have to be very careful the move that they want to make because they are going to attack foreigners in this country," Abudu said.

He disclosed that apart from Ghanaians, Togolese, Nigerians and Ivorians have a substantial immigrant population in Niger.

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ECOWAS would be making a mistake

Seidu Abudu said although he has been cautioned against commenting on the political situation in Niger during the interview, he has observed that Nigeriens have been jubilating every day since July 26 when President Mohamed Bazoum was ousted by the military.

In his estimation, ECOWAS would need to pursue other means to restore constitutional rule than military intervention.

"I don't want to talk about the politics side but when we had electricity, Nigeriens were always crying, now that we don't have power all the time people are jubilating," he said.

Nigeria, which supplies about 70% of Niger's electricity, has cut off power since the coup.

ECOWAS defence chiefs in Accra to finalise plan for military action

Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh has reported in a separate story that ECOWAS defence chiefs are in Accra for a two-day summit on August 17 and 18 to finalise a plan for the possible deployment of military forces in Niger.

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The meeting was first scheduled for August 12 but was subsequently postponed indefinitely.

The summit in Accra follows a directive of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government.

But President Akufo-Addo seems undecided about deploying Ghanaian troops to support the plan by ECOWAS to break into Niger with a military force to restore democratic power.

Experts reject the move to strike the military junta due to the far-reaching consequences for the country and the sub-region.

Military action could destabilise the sub-region

Meanwhile, security analyst, Colonel Festus B. Aboagye (Rtd) has told YEN.com.gh in an exclusive interview that a military intervention could backfire.

The consultant on UN-AU Joint Planning for AU Peace Support Operations also said ECOWAS was too hasty to announce the plan for military intervention.

Col Aboagye (rtd) told YEN.com.gh that the threat of terrorism that has plagued the West African sub-region could be escalated with a military intervention.

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"If ECOWAS hasn't done enough to fight terrorists threatening the region, they must not fight Niger because that could escalate the situation. Ghana must not be part of this potentially catastrophic decision," the Author and Conflict & Security Analyst stated.

Chartered Accountant petitions Parliament over unexplained GH¢52.5 billion transfer from gov't account in 2020

In other news, a Ghanaian citizen has petitioned Parliament's Public Accounts Committee over the mysterious transfer of a huge amount of money from the government's account in 2020.

Mike Kofi Afflu said in the petition that GH¢52.5 billion was transferred from the government's GCB account into an unknown account.

Source: YEN.com.gh