A surge of military takeovers and rising security threats has pushed West Africa into a critical moment, according to the head of the region’s main political bloc.
Omar Touray, president of the Economic Community of West African States Commission, warned on Tuesday that the bloc now finds itself in an emergency situation. He made the remarks while addressing ECOWAS’ mediation and security council, just days after authorities in Benin thwarted a coup attempt.
The incident in Benin follows a worrying pattern across the region. Last month, soldiers in Guinea-Bissau overthrew President Umaro Embalo, adding to a growing list of coups and failed power grabs in recent years.
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Regional tensions escalated further the same day when Nigeria’s Senate approved President Bola Tinubu’s request to deploy troops to Benin at the invitation of its government. Nigerian forces had already carried out airstrikes on armored vehicles during the attempted takeover, also at Benin’s request.
“Events of the last few weeks have shown the imperative of serious introspection on the future of our democracy and the urgent need to invest in the security of our community,” Touray said. “Faced with this situation, Excellencies, it is safe to declare that our community is in a state of emergency.”
It remains unclear whether Touray’s declaration carries formal legal weight or what concrete steps might follow.
ECOWAS has come under increasing scrutiny for what critics describe as inconsistent responses to coups across the region.
According to Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel program at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, the statement could be an effort to reassert the bloc’s authority after past threats of intervention failed to materialize, notably following Niger’s 2023 coup.
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“ECOWAS is concerned that coups will become the new mainstream in West Africa,” Laessing said in AP’s report. “Now they try to show they mean business.”
