Nigeria and Niger retract their claws to sign a security deal

As reported by Reuters, the Nigerian military disclosed on Thursday that Niger and Nigeria have finalized a security deal. The announcement is following a meeting between the defense chiefs of both countries in Niger’s capital; Niamey, on Wednesday.

The statement by a Nigerian military official reads, “Both parties reaffirmed their commitment to resuming and strengthening collaboration, with a view to ensuring regional stability and security.”

The relationship between both countries for about a year now has been bitter sweet. This is notwithstanding the fact that the regions of both countries that border each other have cultural ties.

Niger has in the past accused ECOWAS of failing to help them tackle Islamist violence. However, it would seem that both nations have come to the conclusion that a partnership is necessary to combat the shared insecurity they face.

The statement released by the Nigerian military official notes that the agreement struck this week “reaffirmed its readiness to resume active participation in security cooperation under the Multinational Joint Task Force.”

The rift between both countries began after Niger’s coup in July 2023. The country immediately began facing sanctions from the West and its regional bloc at the time: ECOWAS, including a threat of invasion to restore democracy.

As a result Niger would join Burkina Faso, and Mali in September of the same year to form a regional alliance known as the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), which was intended to operate outside the jurisdiction of ECOWAS.

During the same period, Niger re-iterated the prohibition of flights from Nigeria, insisting that flights from Nigeria would not be allowed to land in Niger.

Prior to that Nigeria had also announced the reinstatement of its ban on flights to and from Niger through a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM). This indicated that this measure was implemented in alignment with the ECOWAS resolution.