Falana Shares The Legal Requirements For Tinubu, ECOWAS To Declare War On Niger

Falana Shares The Legal Requirements For Tinubu, ECOWAS To Declare War On Niger

Mr Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and the Chair of the Alliance on Surviving Covid 19 and Beyond (ASCAB), has advised President Bola Tinubu that regardless of the resolution of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to use force to remove the military junta in Niger and restore President Mohamed Bazoum, his administration is obligated to seek the approval of both houses of the National Assembly…CONTINUE READING

According to Falana, this requirement is in line with section 5(4) of the Constitution of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), which states the following:

“(4) Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section:

(a) the President shall not declare a state of war between the Federation and another country except with the sanction of a resolution of both Houses of the National Assembly, sitting in a joint session; and

(b) except with the prior approval of the Senate, no member of the armed forces of the Federation shall be deployed on combat duty outside Nigeria.

Read Also Lost Generation – School Students Dancing Like They Were Having S** In The Classroom Leaves Netizens Stunned (VIDEO)

However, as Falana pointed out further, section 5(5) allows the President, in consultation with the National Defence Council, to deploy members of the armed forces of the Federation on limited combat duty outside Nigeria if he is satisfied that national security is under imminent threat or danger:

Provided that the President shall, within seven days of actual combat engagement, seek the consent of the Senate, and the Senate shall thereafter give or refuse the said consent within 14 days.

Falana further advised, “In addition to the above constitutional mandate, ECOWAS is required to seek and obtain the authorization of the UN Security Council to launch an attack on a sovereign nation pursuant to article 53(1) of the United Nations Charter. Article 53(1) provides in part, ‘The Security Council shall, where appropriate, utilize such regional arrangements or agencies for enforcement action under its authority. But no enforcement action shall be taken under regional arrangements or by regional agencies without the authorization of the Security Council….’”

This means that ECOWAS’s actions, as a regional arrangement, are subject to the provisions of the United Nations Charter, particularly article 53(1) and general international law.

Therefore, any intervention by ECOWAS in Niger cannot be justified without the authorization of the UN Security Council. Additionally, it must be a collective effort and not a unilateral one.

In the absence of explicit Security Council authorization, any intervention by ECOWAS would be illegal, unless it is in self-defense, which is clearly not the case in the planned intervention in Niger.