A state of emergency has been proclaimed by ECOWAS Commission President Dr. Omar Touray in response to growing acts of terrorism and violent extremism, military takeovers, banditry, and political unrest throughout the subregion.
Touray made this declaration on Tuesday at the Ministerial level of the 55th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Mediation and Security Council (MSC) in Abuja.
He claimed that the past few weeks’ events had demonstrated the necessity of serious reflection on the future of democracy and the pressing need to make investments in the security of the subregion.
He claims that country-by-country evaluations of member states reveal varying levels of risk throughout the sub-region, ranging from high to medium, with an average of high risk, necessitating prompt and coordinated action.
Given the circumstances, it is reasonable to proclaim a state of emergency for our town.
“We ought to give these threats the consideration they require.
In order to do this, the mediation and security council sessions ought to be held more frequently than the two regular sessions during the course of the following year.
“To combat the threats posed by terrorism and banditry, which disregard national borders, we must pool our resources.”
“Therefore, we need to make choices and take steps that will stop this trend,” he stated.
Despite this, Touray claimed that elections in the subregion have become a significant cause of instability.
ECOWAS’s best efforts to protect its democratic credentials and stability while establishing norms of constitutional convergence.
In keeping with the urgency, he stated that in order to provide direction and facilitate regional action, the MSC must continuously monitor the political and security situation in West Africa.
In light of the destructive impact of terrorism along their shared borders, he stated that ECOWAS must also engage in negotiations with its Alliance of Sahel States (AES) neighbors, particularly with reference to their security cooperation.
Elections in Guinea, the Republic of Benin, the Gambia, and Cape Verde will take place in the days and months leading up to next year.
He added, “We will also be handling the aftermath of the coup attempt in the Republic of Benin and the coup in Guinea-Bissau.”
According to the president of the panel, West Africa also faced humanitarian issues, with families, women, and children bearing the burden of instability.
According to him, the number of people who were forcefully displaced in West and Central Africa as of October 2025 was roughly 7.6 million, up from 7.4 million in March.
According to Touray, who cited information from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 6,506,270 of this number were internally displaced people (IDPs), with Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali having the biggest numbers.
There are also 1,094,742 asylum seekers and refugees. The 10 nations with the biggest numbers of asylum seekers, in descending order, are Niger, Mali, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Benin, Senegal, and Gambia.
“Let me reassure the people in our community that we will not stop working. For the benefit of all community members, we will keep working harder to advance a stronger, more peaceful, and stable region.
He declared, “Let’s all continue to be dedicated to upholding the Community’s Constitutional Convergence Principles, promoting peace, and maintaining regional unity.”
Timothy Kabba, the Chairman of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs for Sierra Leone, issued a warning that the sub-region’s growing political and security unrest jeopardized democratic governance and undermined public trust.
It makes sense that our citizens are worried. They are looking to us for leadership that turns commitment into action, not simply for statements of concern.
Our people no longer tolerate unfulfilled promises, therefore our resolutions need to go beyond rhetoric. They anticipate unity, earnestness, and purpose,” he continued.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the meeting’s goal was to assess the political and security environment in the subregion in order to create strategic plans to deal with new issues.
The Senate grants Tinubu’s request to send troops to the Benin Republic
In the meantime, President Bola Tinubu’s proposal to send Nigerian troops to the Republic of Benin for a peacekeeping mission in the wake of last Sunday’s abortive coup was expedited by the Senate on Tuesday during a plenary session.
The upper legislative chamber’s approval came after Tinubu’s letter to that effect was considered by the Committee of the Whole, which unanimously approved the deployment and provided parliamentary support for the regional security intervention.
The decision is a positive step, according to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who pointed out that any neighboring country’s instability threatens the entire area.
“An injury to one is an injury to all,” he stated.
During the session, Tinubu’s appeal was read from a letter he wrote to the Senate President.
The President claims that the letter was sent in response to the Republic of Benin’s request for extraordinary air help from Nigeria’s Armed Forces following an attempt by soldiers to remove President Patrice Talon.
Citing Section 30 (5), Part II of the 1999 Constitution (as modified), Tinubu said he had discussed the request with the National Defense Council before to sending it.
He pointed out that a regional peacekeeping mission now needed Senate approval.
In order to prevent “an attempted unconstitutional seizure of power and the destruction and destabilization of democratic institutions,” President Tinubu called on the Senate to move quickly.
According to the current security arrangements of the Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, Nigeria has a historical obligation to assist Benin, he continued.
He claims that in order to help restore stability and stop further disintegration of order, the situation necessitates “urgent external intervention.”
The request was then forwarded by the Senate President to the Committee of the Whole for prompt consideration.
Recall that on Sunday, soldiers under the command of Lt. Col. Pascal Tigri’s “Military Committee for Refoundation” briefly took control of Cotonou’s state television station and declared the overthrow of President Patrice Talon’s government. However, President Tinubu’s troops and fighter jets intervened to prevent the coup.
