The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has condemned the coup d’état in Niger.
The Commission has said the news has come to them with shock and consternation.
Niger soldiers on Wednesday announced on national TV that they had carried out a coup.
This was after the President, Mohamed Bazoum, was held hostage all day by presidential guards inside the presidential palace in the capital, Niamey.
The presidency and security sources also said that ministries next to the palace were also blocked off, and staff inside the palace had been unable to access their offices.
They also stated that they were staging a coup and had dissolved the constitution, suspended all institutions, and closed the West African country’s borders.
But ECOWAS has directed the perpetrators to release the “democratically elected President” without delay or conditions.
In a statement, ECOWAS also warned those involved in the coup that they would be held accountable both by the international community for the safety and security of the citizens and the President.
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Read the statement below:
