THE Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) announced the closure of land borders connecting the country to Niger Republic.
The NCS Acting Comptroller-General Bashir Adewale Adeniyi disclosed this on Friday, August 4, according to the News Agency Nigeria (NAN).
Adeniyi said the move was in compliance with the decision of the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) to suspend trading between Niger and member-states till further notice.
He said affected border communities will be sensitised, adding that the decision was in the interest of peace and stability between both countries.
“Our president as a regional leader is an apostle of regional trade but where there is no peace, you cannot talk of trade,” Adeniyi said.
The ECOWAS, under the leadership of Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, imposed sanctions on Niger Republic following a military coup, which ousted democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum and ushered in Omar Tchiani, who was previously the head of the presidential guards.
Following the coup, Tinubu vowed that the ECOWAS community would defend democracy and ensure its firm establishment among member states.
The Community also imposed a no-flight zone on Niger Republic, cut off electricity supply from member-states, mobilised international support for the implementation of the provisions of the ECOWAS communique and reactivated the border drilling exercise.
In a joint statement on Monday, Mali and Burkina Faso backed the actions of the Nigerien military and threatened ECOWAS with war.
The Russian Federation also warned against the use of force in Niger to avoid jeopardising the spirit of Pan-Africanism.
There have been rising concerns over the frequency of coups in African countries recently.
In May, military officials successfully overthrew the sitting government in Mali, citing a relaxed attitude towards the Touareg tribes as reason.
Burkina Faso also recorded two successful coups in 2022, and there were other cases of failed attempts in Gineau Bissau, The Gambia among others.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via vopara@icirnigeria.org or @ije_le on Twitter.