Foreign

ECOWAS Parliament says regional security operations must be strengthened to prevent coups

Published

9 months ago

July 28, 2023

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament have said that the ECOWAS Commission must strengthen collective regional security operations with the African Union to stop the threat of coup d’etats in the sub-region.

This is one of the recommendations contained in the draft report presented at the end of delocalised meeting of the ECOWAS Parliament Joint Committees on Political Affairs, Peace, Security, and the African Peer Review Mechanism, Judicial Affairs and Human rights, Social Affairs, Gender and Women Empowerment on Friday.

The delocalised meeting, which held in Monrovia, Liberia, from July 25 to July 28, aimed at proffering the best mechanisms for ensuring greater political inclusion in governance in member states, peace, security to prevent and resolve the multifaceted crisis faced by states.

The draft report which would be adopted by plenary at the next session of the Parliament contained recommendations to the Member States, the ECOWAS Commission and Parliament on ensuring the peace, security, stabilisation and good governance in Member States.

With the threats of insecurity in the region, the ECOWAS Parliament Committees stated: “We appeal to the ECOWAS Commission to work hard to strengthen collective regional security operation in collaboration with the African Union and key partners.

“To encourage regional efforts in addressing the concerns and common security challenges that makes the state fragile and susceptible to coups.

“Encourages the ECWOAS Commission to continue to intensify dialogue with the transitional authorities in Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso.

It stated that: “In order to ensure the follow up and implementation of the transition time-table with a view to accelerate the return to constitutional order in these states.

“Urges the ECOWAS Parliament to develop mechanisms to enable it to be proactive, operational in conflict prevention and management.

“Urges the member states to centralise military commands to avoid formation of elite military units or parallel military forces whose command and control is outside a unified command structure.”

Speaking to journalists at the end of the meeting, Sen. Edwin Snowe, Leader of the Liberian Delegation to the ECOWAS Parliament, lamented the backslide in democratic rule in the sub-region, describing it as a shame on the region’s democracy which must be stopped.

Snowe, who was also Chair of the Joint Committees’ delocalised meeting, expressed optimism in the leadership of President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria, who is Chair of the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of States, to intervene in the recent coup in the Republic of Niger.

“It is actually war in Guinea Bissau two weeks ago when President Tinubu said zero tolerance to coup d’etats and less than two weeks later there is coup d’etat.

“This morning, the President have asked me to join him on Sunday to Abuja for the Extraordinary Summit of the ECOWAS Heads of State. We hope that the Heads of States will come up with some decisive positions of this matter.

“It is actually a shame on our region and we hope that we will find a way to stop this. Because it 8d backsliding from democracy. Gone are the days when we had the Samuel Doe, Jerry Rawlings, Yahaya Jameh, Abacha’s. Gone are those days.

“We have made significant progress in our drive to democracy so to see us going back to where we come from is a shame and I hope that something will be done in a faster manner for us to correct the situation.

“It is a big test for Nigeria and the leadership of the Chairmanship of President Tinubu and we are hoping that there will be some drastic measures to correct this situation in our region.

“This time around, ECOWAS will not be a sleeping bulldog. I believe in the leadership of President Tinubu and I am sure he will make a difference,” Snowe said.

He however noted that for every successful coup with a loss of a member state, it undermines the work of ECOWAS bodies and institutions, reiterating that the leadership of ECOWAS will stand firm protecting the region’s democracy.

Foreign

3 teens arrested in Germany for allegedly plotting terror attack

Published

12 hours ago

April 12, 2024

Alero Danjuma

German authorities have arrested three teenagers aged 15 and 16 on suspicion of plotting a deadly Islamist terrorist attack in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, prosecutors said on Friday.

The state’s Central Office for the Prosecution of Terrorism (ZenTer NRW) sought an arrest warrant for the teenagers over the Easter holiday.

They were suspected of plotting a terrorist attack in accordance with the aims and ideology of (extremist militia organisation) Islamic State.

The detained suspects are a 15-year-old girl from Dusseldorf, a 16-year-old girl from the Märkischer Kreis district and a 15-year-old boy from the Soest district, located about 100 kilometres to the east of Dusseldorf.

A fourth suspect has reportedly been identified in the south-western German state of Baden-Württemberg, and the local court there has issued an arrest warrant.

According to the investigators, the teenagers are accused of having agreed to commit murder and manslaughter.

This is in conjunction with the preparation of a serious act of violence endangering the state.

The presumption of innocence applied in all stages of the proceedings.

Security sources told newsmen that the young people had formed a chat group, but had not drawn up a concrete attack plan for a particular time and place.

However, sources said the cities of Dortmund, Dusseldorf and Cologne were discussed as targets, and attacks with knives and Molotov cocktails on people in churches or police officers in police stations had been considered.

The sources said authorities had also conducted searches as part of the investigation.

A machete and a dagger were seized in Dusseldorf, but no evidence of the construction of incendiary devices was discovered.

Sources said the father of the Dusseldorf suspect had already attracted attention from authorities in the past because he had allegedly collected donations for the Islamic State.

The investigators declined to reveal how the suspected terrorists were tracked down, but said that foreign intelligence agencies “did not play a role.”

Foreign

Putin Registers As Candidate For Russia’s Next Presidential Election

Published

2 months ago

January 30, 2024

Alero Danjuma

Russia on Monday officially recognised Vladimir Putin as a candidate for the presidential elections in March, a vote that he is all but certain to win.

The 71-year-old has led Russia since the turn of the century, winning four presidential ballots and briefly serving as prime minister in a system where opposition has become virtually non-existent.

The Central Election Commission said it had registered Putin, who nominated himself, as well as right-wing firebrand and Putin-loyalist Leonid Slutsky as candidates for the vote.

The election will be held over a three-day period from March 15 to 17, a move that Kremlin critics have argued makes guaranteeing transparency more difficult.

Following a controversial constitutional reform in 2020, Putin could stay in power until at least 2036.

Rights groups say that previous elections have been marred by irregularities and that independent observers are likely to be barred from monitoring the vote.

While Putin is not expected to face any real competition, liberal challenger Boris Nadezhdin has passed the threshold of signatures to be registered as a candidate.

However, it is still unclear if he will be allowed to run, and the Kremlin has said it does not consider him to be a serious rival.