The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court of Justice has delivered a crucial ruling, rejecting the Nigerien junta’s plea to lift the sanctions imposed by the regional body in response to the recent coup in Niger. In a decision released by the court’s communications unit, it was highlighted that the junta failed to meet the additional requirement for the case to be admissible, ultimately leading to the dismissal of their request for interim measures.
Led by President Edward Asante, the three-member panel of the ECOWAS Court of Justice upheld that while the court had jurisdiction to hear the case, it was unable to grant the junta’s plea. The panel also included Judges Gbéri-bè Ouattara and Dupe Atoki, both of whom concurred with the judgment.
The political turmoil in Niger unfolded when a group of military officers, headed by Army General Abdourahmane Tchiani, orchestrated a coup on 26 July, resulting in the ousting and subsequent detention of President Mohammed Bazoum in Niamey, the nation’s capital.
In response to the military takeover, ECOWAS, spearheaded by Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, swiftly imposed a series of sanctions with the aim of restoring constitutional order in Niger. These measures included the cutoff of electricity supply from Nigeria, precipitating a severe power crisis in the junta-led country. Additionally, the regional body issued a veiled threat of military intervention to reinstate President Bazoum to power.
In an attempt to counter the sanctions, the Nigerien junta turned to the ECOWAS court, filing a request for interim measures in a broader case challenging the legality of the coup-related sanctions. They contended that the border closure and suspension of electricity supply by Nigeria had inflicted adverse effects on the Nigerien populace, leading to shortages of essential commodities such as food, medicine, and electricity. The junta implored the court to issue interim orders compelling the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government to immediately suspend the sanctions.
However, the ECOWAS court rebuffed the junta’s plea, citing their lack of competence to appear before the court in light of the unconstitutional nature of their government following the July coup. The court also highlighted that the substantive application was prima facie inadmissible, as per the provisions of the Protocol of the Court.
During the hearing, the Nigerien government’s legal representatives underscored the crippling effects of the sanctions on the country’s populace, emphasizing the shortages of essential commodities precipitated by the closure of borders and suspension of electricity supply. They drew attention to the ECOWAS’s reactions to coups in other member states, contending that the regional body had overreacted by imposing sanctions on Niger. Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea are the other ECOWAS member states currently under military rule.
In defense of its actions, the ECOWAS Authority maintained that the Republic of Niger was being governed by an unconstitutional military junta, which had seized power in violation of ECOWAS legal instruments. Consequently, they argued that an unconstitutional government, which had been denounced by ECOWAS and the international community, could not legally represent the country, rendering the junta’s substantive application and request for provisional measures inadmissible.
The court also emphasized that an entity resulting from an unconstitutional change of government, and not acknowledged by ECOWAS as a government of a member state, inherently lacks the capacity to initiate a case before the court with the aim of obtaining benefits or reprieve.
In its ruling, the court further noted that the seven non-state applicants, along with the Republic of Niger, failed to provide specific details regarding the nature and extent of the harm suffered by each of them from the imposed measures, making it challenging to differentiate their legal interests from those of the Republic of Niger. Consequently, the court concluded that the application was prima facie inadmissible relative to the non-state applicants.
In light of these findings, the ECOWAS court ultimately dismissed the substantive suit and the request for interim measures sought by the junta, decreeing them as inadmissible.
