Niger mutiny: Ex-envoy warns of security implications for Nigeria – Daily Trust

The attempted mutiny in the Republic of Niger has exposed deeper security vulnerabilities in the country and could have direct implications for Nigeria, particularly along the northern border and the wider Lake Chad Basin, a retired Nigerian diplomat, Ambassador Abdullahi A. Omaki, has warned.
Amb. Omaki, who is the Executive Vice Chairman of the Abdullahi Omaki Community Peace Initiative Network (AOCPIN), while sharing his thoughts on the mutiny, said the incident should not be viewed merely as an internal power struggle in Niger.
He said it “represents more than an internal power struggle within Niger” because it exposes “potentially serious fractures within the Nigerien Armed Forces” at a time when the country is facing persistent jihadist violence and major geopolitical realignments.
According to him, the immediate crisis may have ended, but “the strategic crisis has not.”
He identified the reported involvement of Russia’s Africa Corps as particularly significant, saying it suggested that Russia was becoming not only a security partner but “an increasingly important guarantor of regime survival.”
The retired career diplomat said the development should concern Nigeria because Niger forms part of the country’s “extended national security perimeter.”
He warned that instability in Niger could affect the Nigeria-Niger borderlands and security corridors stretching through Katsina, Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara, while also facilitating the movement of terrorists, criminal networks, arms and migrants.
“For Nigeria, therefore, Niger is not simply a foreign policy concern; it is part of the country’s extended national security perimeter,” he said.
Omaki said the latest development also underscored the need for Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to reconsider prolonged confrontation with Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, which now operate under the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).
He said terrorism, organised crime, displacement and arms trafficking do not respect regional political divisions.
“The principal strategic question is therefore no longer who wins the political contest between ECOWAS and AES,” he said, adding that the focus should be on “how West Africa can prevent the Sahelian security crisis from consuming the wider region.”
He urged Nigeria to strengthen intelligence-sharing and surveillance along its northern borders, maintain quiet diplomatic engagement with Niger and separate practical security cooperation from political disagreements.
He also called for a pragmatic ECOWAS-AES security dialogue and greater attention to the Lake Chad Basin.
Omaki said Nigeria should regard developments in Niger and the Lake Chad Basin as part of an integrated security theatre.
“If instability deepens in Niger, the pressure will not remain north of Nigeria’s borders,” he warned.
He said the August 29 crisis should therefore be treated as “an early warning, not an isolated incident,” stressing that “a stable Niger is not merely desirable for Nigeria; it is strategically indispensable to Nigeria’s own security and to the future stability of West Africa.”

Niger gets military supports
Meanwhile, reports from Niger indicate that the military government led by General Abdourahamane Tchiani received Algerian military support after loyalist forces, reportedly assisted by Russia’s Africa Corps, regained control of a key military base at Diori Hamani International Airport.
The reported Algerian contingent included four Sukhoi Su-30 fighter aircraft, an Il-76 military transport plane and an Il-78 aerial refuelling aircraft.
Algeria’s Defence Ministry, as quoted by Turkish newswire Anadolu, said the aircraft were deployed to Niger on a mission to support its army in confronting an attempt to destabilise the country.
Nigerien Prime Minister Ali Mahamane Lamine Zeine received the Algerian mission alongside Defence Minister General Salifou Mody and the army chief, General Moussa Salaou Barmou, according to reports.
The development followed an attempted mutiny on August 29 in which soldiers attacked or seized strategic locations, including Air Base 101 at the airport complex, while gunfire was also reported around the presidential palace and state broadcaster.
Nigerien authorities’ account of the incident said security forces had regained control, while reports indicated that Russian Africa Corps personnel assisted loyalist forces in suppressing the mutiny.
Meanwhile, a Nigerien journalist with German international broadcaster Deutsche Welle, Issa Ouanke, told Daily Trust that normal activities had largely resumed in Niamey after the security incident.
He said security had, however, been tightened, with increased checkpoints, particularly on roads leading into the capital.
“Life is largely back to normal in Niamey, but there are heavy security checkpoints in and around the capital, especially for people entering the city,” Ouanke said.
Tchiani, who was commander of Niger’s presidential guard, seized power from former President Mohamed Bazoum in July 2023.

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