The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) says the Armed Forces of Nigeria has not received an order for military intervention in the Republic of Niger, following the coup which led to the ouster of President Mohamed Bazoum in July.
After a meeting on Sunday, leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) imposed sanctions on Niger and gave the coup plotters a week’s ultimatum to hand over power to the democratically elected government.
ECOWAS further threatened to resort to the use of force if Bazoum is not reinstated within a week.
The Director of Defence Information, Tukur Gusau, while commenting on the development in a statement on Thursday, dismissed reports that the Nigerian Army is assembling forces for military action in Niger, stressing that the Nigerian Military has not received any order from the appropriate authority to commence action against the Niger military junta.
The statement follows a leaked document by self proclaimed investigative journalist David Hundeyin who shared the classified document via his twitter handle, claiming that Nigeria wants to take military action against neighbouring Niger.