In its bid to restore democracy, ECOWAS sent an ECOMOG force led by Nigerian troops to Sierra Leone to engage the rebel forces in 1997.
Nigeria is currently leading the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to intervene in the ongoing coup crisis in the Republic of Niger following President Mohamed Bazoum’s overthrow.
Having threatened the coup plotters with military intervention, the Chairman of ECOWAS, President Bola Tinubu and other West African leaders on Thursday, August 10, 2023, will decide whether to reinstate Bazoum using force or diplomacy.
While the West African authorities are expected to make a difficult decision for the good of everyone, it’s important to look at what happened the last time the Nigerian military intervened in a similar crisis.
The Nigerian military has a history of leading the ECOWAS Ceasefire Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) to maintain peace and restore democracy in West African countries where rebel forces of military groups seek to seize power through coup d’etat.
But while the Nigerian troops still engage in peacekeeping missions in West Africa, the last time they were deployed on military intervention to resolve a coup crisis was in 1997, in Sierra Leone, following the ouster of President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah‘s elected government by Major Johnny Paul Koroma.
In its bid to restore democracy, ECOWAS sent an ECOMOG force led by Nigerian troops to Sierra Leone to engage the rebel forces in 1997.
Before then, the Nigerian government had reportedly issued an ultimatum to the coup leaders to leave power and restore the elected president.
But after a breakdown of negotiations for the peaceful restoration of the president, the ECOMOG forces, led by the Nigerian troops decided to ‘contain’ the rebels
The attack started with Nigerian naval vessels stationed off Freetown shelling the country’s capital on June 2, 1997.
By March 1998, the ECOMOG troops had defeated the rebel forces and reinstated Kabbah. Mission accomplished.
However, a series of human rights violation allegations followed the ECOMOG’s intervention in the country.
There were allegations that Nigeria intervened in the crisis without any official mandate from other West African leaders.
It was also alleged that the troops shelled boats carrying cargoes of rice and killed tens of civilians at a dockside market.
According to Human Rights Watch, Abass Bundu, a former Executive Secretary of ECOWAS described the bombardment of Freetown as “totally unwarranted and unjustified.”
The human rights organisation also quoted former President of Burkina Faso, Blaise Compaore as saying “The agreements between the states of West Africa do not authorize military intervention to restore a regime or organize a countercoup. This type of operation could cause further tragedies for the Sierra Leone people.”