CDS URGES ECOWAS DEFENCE CHIEFS TO UPHOLD DEMOCRATIC VALUES
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General Christopher Musa, the Chief of Defense Staff (CDS), has expressed regret about the military takeover in several West African nations, claiming it has had unforeseen effects and jeopardized democratic ideals in the area.
On Wednesday, he delivered a speech at the 42nd Ordinary Meeting of the ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of Defense Staff, held in Abuja.
According to General Musa, the possibility of a military takeover must be eliminated since it contradicts the fundamental principles and obligations of the military.
He continued by saying that the military in democracies ought to protect democratic values in accordance with the foundations of their constitutions.
Additionally, Yusuf Tuggar, the minister of foreign affairs, and Mohammed Abubakar, the minister of defense, issued a challenge to the heads of the regional service organizations to combat terrorism by working together effectively to stop the illegal circulation of light and small weaponry throughout the West African subregion.
Regional security is on the agenda for the summit, which is being hosted at the Defense Headquarters in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, at a time when the bloc is debating the creation of a force to combat security threats.
The defense chiefs of Cape Verde, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and Togo were not present at the meeting, out of the fifteen expected.
At the end of the previous meeting last year August, the defence chiefs had agreed to a comprehensive and holistic approach towards political, security and diplomatic dimensions in addressing the situation in Niger Republic.
The military regimes in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger had set up the mutual defence pact, leaving the wider Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) bloc in January.
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In July, the three country’s leaders took part in the first summit of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), set up after pulling out of ECOWAS.
Their ECOWAS exit was fuelled in part by their accusation that Paris was manipulating the bloc, and not providing enough support for anti-jihadist efforts.
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