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Following the coup that deposed President Bazoum on July 30, millions of Nigeris are suffering as a result of economic sanctions.
The military administration of Niger requested on Tuesday that a regional court in West Africa lift the sanctions placed on the nation by its neighbors after a coup in July toppled elected president Mohamed Bazoum.
During the hearing held in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, Younkaila Yaye, a lawyer for the government, said that “there is no sector of the Nigerien society that has not been affected by these sanctions” that have caused in one of the world’s poorest countries.
Following Bazoum’s overthrow by a faction of troops identifying as the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) implemented a series of economic penalties. Other nations that had offered assistance for infrastructure, security, and health needs—among them, the United States—also stopped doing so.
Prior to the coup, assistance made up almost 50% of Niger’s yearly spending plan. Along with closing their borders, Niger’s neighbors cut off more than 70% of its electrical supply from Nigeria. We stopped doing business with nations in West Africa. Hundreds of millions of dollars in aid were withheld, and Niger’s assets in foreign institutions were blocked.
In an attempt to stop the wave of coups in the Sahel, the regional union slapped the toughest sanctions to date. However, they haven’t made much of an impression on the government’s ambitions, which have solidified its grasp on power while millions of Nigeriens are experiencing increasing suffering.
The government’s attorneys outlined the ways that Niger is being harmed by the sanctions throughout the hearing: There are not enough materials for kids to go back to school. The stocks at drugstores are running low. Increasing prices are forcing businesses to close.
Yaye claimed that ECOWAS was treating Nigeriens worse than it had treated coups in other nations, “especially regarding financial transactions,” as a result of the coup.
In anticipation of the final ruling, the government requested that the court lessen the penalty. However, ECOWAS objected to their request.
The ECOWAS attorney, Francois Kanga-Penond, said that the government lacks the authority to bring a matter like this in court as it is not recognized by the bloc’s protocol.
The hearing was postponed until December 7.
Bazoum has requested that the same court order his release and the restoration of the constitutional order. He has been placed under house arrest since the coup. On November 30, the court is scheduled to rule.
source:-aljazeera
