West Africa in emergency, ECOWAS says

West Africa is in a state of emergency, the president of ECOWAS told the regional bloc’s security council at a meeting in Abuja on Tuesday.

It’s not clear whether Omar Touray’s declaration was a formal one, and if so, what it might entail.

Citing a recent string of coups, attempted coups and escalating security challenges, he said "events of the last few weeks have shown the imperative of serious introspection on the future of our democracy and the urgent need to invest in the security of our community.”

Analysts say Touray’s declaration may be an attempt to restore the bloc’s credibility after it failed to follow up on a threat to intervene after the 2023 coup in Niger.

“ECOWAS is concerned that coups will become the new mainstream in West Africa,” said Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel program at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. “Now they try to show they mean business."

Also on Tuesday, Nigeria’s Senate approved a request from President Bola Tinubu to deploy troops in Benin at its government's request. Nigeria carried out airstrikes on armored vehicles during Sunday’s attempted takeover there, also at the government's request.