By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Military-governed Niger has accused its Nigerian neighbour of “serving as a rear base” to “destabilise” the country, inviting its charge d’affaires in Abuja for questioning.
Relations between Abuja and its northern Sahel neighbour Niamey have deteriorated since the military took over in Niger in 2023.
It also severed ties with the regional block, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu, who is currently head of the ECOWAS bloc, had at a point considered a regional military intervention to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum and restore civilian rule.
“Despite efforts to normalise relations, we regret that Nigeria has not given up on serving as a rear base for the destabilisation of Niger with the complicity of some foreign powers and officials of the former regime, to whom it offers refuge”, Nigerien Foreign Minister Bakary Yaou Sangare said in a statement read on national television late Thursday.
In a meeting with Niger’s army chief in late August, Nigeria’s top military commander had agreed “not to destabilise Niger or any of its neighbours”.
Meanwhile, “Niger affirmed its readiness to resume active participation in security cooperation under the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJT)”, according to a military statement.
The task force, involving Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad, has been key in battling boko Haram terror group active along the border areas of the four countries.
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).
