”We would never release Bazoum or rejoin ECOWAS” — Niger head of military junta

The head of military junta in Niger Republic, General Abdourahamane Tchiani, has vowed that they would never release the ousted president Mohamed Bazoum.

Tchiani also vowed that none of the three Sahel countries would rejoin the regional bloc, Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS.

Tchiani made the vow in an interview he granted to RTN news channel in the country’s capital Niamey on Monday.

Explaining why the junta would not release Bazoum, Tchiani said, “We would never release Bazoum. Setting Bazoum free is akin to stabbing ourselves in the stomach which would do harm to Nigeriens.”

It would be recalled that the military regimes in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, on January 28 announced their immediate withdrawal from ECOWAS.

However, during the withdrawal threat, the leaders of the three Sahel nations issued a statement, saying it was a “sovereign decision” to leave the group “without delay”.

“Just because we are members of the bloc, food and medicine supply was cut off. Power was also cut off and our own funds have been freezed. So, we consulted our friends in the Sahel on exiting the bloc to better the life of our citizens. That we should withdraw from the bloc that is answerable to the foreign countries. So, we have withdrawn our membership from the bloc and would never return to the union,” he said.

While responding to the consequences of its withdrawal on security, trade and socio-economic activities, he said, “Now the world is a global village and is the world within ECOWAS? So, God will feed every human He created.”