ECOWAS Speaker Expresses Grief Over Rising Terrorism, Violent Extremism, Organised Crime in West Africa

Hadja Mémounatou Ibrahima, Speaker of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament, has expressed concern about the growing threat of terrorism, violent extremism, and organised crime in the West African sub-region.

Speaking at the 2024 First Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament in Abuja, Ibrahima thanked Almighty God, Creator and Originator of all things, for allowing the parliament to meet at the National Assembly, which is a powerful symbol of the Parliament’s commitment to viable and genuine sub-regional integration.

Ibrahima, who stated that the session is taking place in a difficult international context for the entire planet, insisted that the world had only recently emerged from pandemics and epidemics, and was still grappling with several scourges and challenges, such as poverty, climate change, the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, and the Middle East conflict, to name a few.

She stated: “Unfortunately, the problems are exacerbated by another phenomenon of staggering proportions in the region, namely the rise in the threat of terrorism, violent extremism, and organised crime, which is costing the lives of our valiant defence and security forces, as well as thousands of innocent people.”

Ibrahim stated that several member states are facing various political, economic, and security crises that the 6th Legislature must urgently assist in addressing, adding that:
“These include the desire expressed by three of our member states to withdraw from the Community, as well as increasing tensions between the Republics of Benin and Niger, not to mention other constant concerns in the region such as terrorism, food insecurity, irregular migration, and the negative effects of climate change.”

She stated that the “Kano Declaration” was adopted by Parliament as a result of discussions on various issues.
highlighting that through the declaration, the ECOWAS Parliament resolved, among other things, to establish an ad hoc mediation committee to initiate and maintain not only dialogue with the authorities of the various countries but also communication among the various populations.

She also stated that the Parliament resolved to conduct field visits to better understand and resolve disagreements between the two friendly and sister nations of Benin and Niger, as well as to encourage the ECOWAS Commission to speed up the implementation of the joint defence strategy to combat terrorism and violent extremism.

“I want to assure you that, during its last two meetings, the Bureau of Parliament discussed these recommendations in detail, and urgent actions are being taken in collaboration with other ECOWAS institutions to implement them,” Ibrahima stated.

In his remarks, President of the ECOWAS Commission Omar Touray stated that, in addition to the numerous threats to peace and security, as well as the challenges of poverty, the West African region faces the risk of disintegration.

He stated, “As you are all aware, on January 29th, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger informed the Commission of their intention to leave ECOWAS with immediate effect.”

“Our people, the people of West Africa, have lived in an integrated ECOWAS community for several decades. Populations have benefited from freedom of movement within our ECOWAS space and have begun to recognise the benefits of our common market, in which local products can be freely traded in a market with over 400 million people. In addition, a common passport and a common biometric identity card for travel within our community space have been implemented.

“Given these advantages, it is clear that disintegration will not only disrupt people’s freedom of movement and establishment but will also exacerbate regional insecurity. More specifically, the withdrawal of the three aforementioned countries will deal a severe blow to security cooperation, particularly in terms of intelligence sharing and participation in the fight against regional terrorism and other joint security initiatives, such as the operationalization of the ECOWAS standby force, which our member states’ defence ministers have just agreed to activate, as well as the Accra Initiative and the Multinational Joint Taskforce,” Touray stated.
Touray also stated that the three countries’ withdrawal could result in diplomatic and political isolation on the international stage, as they will no longer be able to rely on bloc support when their citizens or candidates seek positions in the African Union, the United Nations, and other organisations.
“This withdrawal will also have an impact on the travel and immigration conditions for citizens of these three countries, as they will now be required to apply for visas before travelling within the subregion. Citizens of these countries may no longer be able to reside or conduct business freely within ECOWAS facilities, and they may be subject to a variety of national laws. Furthermore, these three countries will be required to discontinue the use of ECOWAS passports, the ECOWAS biometric national identity card, and the ECOWAS “Brown Card” automobile insurance on a regional basis.
“Economically and financially, the withdrawal of the three-member states could result in the cessation or suspension of all ECOWAS projects and programmes in these countries, totalling more than $500 million.
“It is also worth noting that two regional financial institutions, the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) and the West African Development Bank (BOAD), have made significant investments in these three countries. EBID currently has 27 projects in these three countries, totalling approximately 321.634 million US dollars, with 38.1 per cent being public sector projects and 61.9 per cent being private sector projects. The banking portfolio in these three countries accounts for approximately 22.5% of the total bank portfolio in the 15 member states. The three countries contributed a total of $33.135 million to the bank’s capital.
“Institutionally, it is worth noting that the three countries’ withdrawal will lead to the closure of four ECOWAS regional entities in Burkina Faso, two ECOWAS regional bodies in Mali, and one ECOWAS regional office in Niger. This will also have an impact on the job security of approximately 130 ECOWAS staff members from the three countries, which are divided as follows: 77 from Burkina Faso, 23 from Mali, and 32 from Niger,” Touray added.