ECOWAS Defence Chiefs Meet In Abuja As Nigeria’s CDS Warns Against Coup

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, has bemoaned military takeover in some West African countries, saying it has created unintended consequences and threatened democratic values in the region.

He spoke at the 42nd Ordinary Meeting of the ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff in Abuja on Wednesday.

General Musa said the threat of military takeover must be destroyed, adding that it negates the core values and responsibilities of the military profession.

He added that in democratic countries, the military must uphold democratic values in line with the principles of their constitutions.

Also, the Minister of Defence, Mohammed Abubakar; and his Foreign Affairs counterpart, Yusuf Tuggar; challenged the service chiefs from the regional bloc to tackle terrorism through effective collaboration to combat illicit movement of small arms and light weapons in West African sub-region.

The meeting held at the Defence Headquarters in Nigeria’s capital city Abuja has regional security as one of its agenda at a time the bloc is considering the establishment of a force that will counter security challenges.

Of the 15 defence chiefs expected at the meeting, those of Cape Verde, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Guinea, Guinea Bissau and Togo were absent.

At the end of the previous meeting last year August, the defence chiefs had agreed to a comprehensive and holistic approach towards political, security and diplomatic dimensions in addressing the situation in Niger Republic.

The military regimes in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger had set up the mutual defence pact, leaving the wider Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) bloc in January.

In July, the three country’s leaders took part in the first summit of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), set up after pulling out of ECOWAS.

Their ECOWAS exit was fuelled in part by their accusation that Paris was manipulating the bloc, and not providing enough support for anti-jihadist efforts.