By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Two years of diplomatic tension between Benin and Niger this week saw the West African neighbours carry out a tit-for-tat expulsion of diplomats, sources in both countries said Sunday.
Relations have been frosty since a military junta gained power in Niger July 2023.
The regime has regularly accused its pro-Western neighbour of seeking to destabilise it, an allegation Benin has denied.
Relations further nosedived after a foiled coup in Benin early December.
Cotonou has not specifically accused Niger, but suspicions remain about Niamey’s possible role in the failed coup.
Recent days saw Benin expel an intelligence agent and a police officer stationed at the Niger embassy in Cotonou, according to a Beninese diplomatic source, who did not specify a reason.
In retaliation, Niger, in a note dated Thursday, declared the first counsellor of Benin’s embassy in Niamey “persona non grata” and gave him 48 hours to leave the country, citing a reciprocal move.
Benin’s army foiled the December 7 coup attempt with support from neighbouring Nigeria, and France.
Niger is allied with Burkina Faso and Mali, its two neighbours also ruled by juntas.
All three states have left the regional bloc, the Economic Community of West African States to form a confederation, the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).
The trio, having moved closer politically to Moscow, share an anti-imperialist and pro-sovereignty vision.
They have criticised West African coastal countries, which have remained close to former colonial power France, such as Benin and the Ivory Coast.
