West African defence chief pushes for Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger to return to ECOWAS

West African defense chiefs on Friday demanded the return of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger Republic to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, made the call as he led other ECOWAS defence chiefs on a visit to the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) on Friday in Abuja.

Musa said the return of the three countries to the regional bloc was necessary to address insecurity across the subregion.

He said efforts were underway to ensure the three countries join ECOWAS.

The three countries currently under the control of military juntas left the regional bloc last year in protest at the handling of a military coup in Niger Republic by West African leaders.

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Musa said: “For us, we feel that without security, there will be no progress and the threats we face, especially insurgency, are very high.

“We think it’s really important for us to partner together to achieve success. No country can do it alone, and that’s why this is important.

“We know that there are three countries that have decided to withdraw.

“We are doing everything we can to make sure they get back to the cage because we know even they themselves won’t be able to handle this.

“We know that if they fall, it will drag us down and that is why it is important for us as West Africans to continue to work together.”

West African defence chief pushes for Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger to return to ECOWAS first appeared on Latest Nigeria News | Headlines from Ripples Nigeria.