Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso have once again shunned the 43rd Ordinary Meeting of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff, which was held at the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) in Abuja.
The Sahelian nations have consistently boycotted ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff meetings since they announced their exit from the regional bloc on 28 January 2024.
Their exit not only depleted the numerical strength of ECOWAS and fractured its integration effort, but also altered existing regional security cooperation and collaboration aimed at fighting insurgency and other transnational organised crime in the Sahel, Lake Chad Basin and West Africa.
To this end, the ECOWAS Defence Chiefs met in Abuja this week to develop a new security strategy to fill the void created by the exit of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso.
Speaking during the meeting, the ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace, and Security, Amb. Abdel-Fatau Musah, said the meeting would be a pledging exercise towards the counter-terrorism effort.
According to him, “The member states have already pledged a contingent that will form a corps of brigade to fight terrorism in the region. So, with three of our member states withdrawing, that has become a bit obsolete.
“We need to look at how the gaps can be filled, so this meeting also discussed that at length. The general security situation in the region was also discussed, including terrorism, banditry, and transnational organised crime. Together with other agencies in the region, we are looking forward to how we can reposition ECOWAS to face these challenges as we move forward with our regional integration.”
In his closing remarks, the Chairman of the ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, said that the 3-day meeting aimed to promote regional security and cooperation within the ECOWAS community and forge a common front in addressing common security threats.
He said, “As we wrap up the 43rd Ordinary Meeting of the ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff, we identified critical vulnerabilities to regional security and demonstrated our firm resolve to address these threats.
“As expected, there were areas of concern between members, but more importantly, there was a firm resolve on the need for collective action.
“This is the spirit of this gathering, which is firmly rooted in a resolute commitment to meeting our primary obligation as members of the armed and defence forces of our respective countries, which is to defend and protect our people from harm and insecurity.”
Noting that they had deliberated over critical security concerns in the West African sub-region, General Musa said: “Some of these areas include the review of pledges for the ECOWAS Standby Force, consideration of pledges for the ECOWAS Counter-Terrorist Brigade, and the rotation of Staff Officers of Peace Support Operation Divisions and the ECOWAS Standby Force.”