The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) court has scheduled its decision on interim remedies in a lawsuit that the State of Niger and seven other parties have brought before it for December 7.
As to the post on Anaedoonline.ng, the case was filed by the junta of the Niger Republic against the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS, along with two other parties.
Following the court’s hearing of both parties on Monday, November 21, 2023, in Abuja, Nigeria, the ruling date was set.
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The applicants, through their legal representatives, Moukaila Yaye and five others, contended that the sanctions enforced by the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, under the leadership of Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, had resulted in unfavourable consequences for the Nigerien populace, such as scarcity of food, medication, and electricity, due to the closure of borders and cut off of electricity supply by Nigeria.
The applicants requested an order from the court to compel the Authority of Heads of State and Government to immediately suspend the sanctions.
In comparison to the other three member states (Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea) that had also had coups d’état in recent years, they claimed that Niger was treated unfairly and unequally.
In compliance with the court’s directives, the applicants further requested that the court declare the application admissible and that it is competent to review the matter.
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The applicants’ request was denied by the respondents, the Authority of Heads of State, the Mediation and Security Council, and the ECOWAS Commission, who were represented by Mr. François Kanga-Penond. They objected to the application’s inadmissibility.
In addition to stating that the democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum has a pending case before the court in which he is challenging the legitimacy of this same junta, Kanga-Penond told the court that a coup d’état was not recognised in a democracy and that the junta lacked the legal capacity to bring a case before the court.
Kanga-Penond highlighted that the junta’s lack of legal standing to petition the court deprives the court of the authority to consider their plea for temporary relief.
“In the initiating application, the applicants – the State of Niger, six Nigerien organizations, and a Nigerien national asked the court to declare the measures taken by the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS during its extraordinary sessions of July 30 and August 10, 2023, allegedly aimed at restoring constitutional order in the Republic of Niger, illegal.
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“They requested the court to nullify all decisions of these ECOWAS organs imposing sanctions, including the decision to resort to military intervention in the Republic of Niger,“ the statement added.
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