Niger’s foreign minister has summoned the chargé d’affaires at the Nigerian embassy, accusing Nigeria of facilitating efforts to destabilize the junta-led nation.
State television reported this development on Thursday, further straining the already tense relations between the neighbouring countries.
The tensions stem from the military coup in Niger in 2023, which severed ties with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu, serving as ECOWAS chair, had considered a regional military intervention to restore ousted President Mohamed Bazoum. However, a thaw seemed possible in August when Abuja and Niamey resumed security cooperation.
The Nigerien Foreign Minister, Bakary Yaou Sangare, expressed disappointment in Nigeria’s alleged actions.
“Despite efforts to normalize relations, we regret that Nigeria has not given up on serving as a rear base for the destabilization of Niger, with the complicity of some foreign powers and officials of the former regime, to whom it offers refuge,” Sangare said in a statement aired on national television.
The accusations follow a prior commitment made in August, during which Nigeria’s top military commander assured Niger’s army chief of non-interference in the nation’s affairs.
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At the same time, Niger had expressed readiness to actively re-engage in security cooperation under the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJT), aimed at combating regional threats.
The task force, involving Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad, has been key in battling jihadist groups active along the border areas of the four countries.
Niger’s military government is fighting jihadists linked to the Islamic State group, Al-Qaeda and Boko Haram in the western Tillaberi region and in the southeastern Diffa area near Nigeria.
Since the 2023 coup, Niger has sought closer ties with its neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso, which also have military governments and with whom it has forged a strategic confederation — the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).
AFP
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