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Niger: UN, AU, ECOWAS meet as ex rebel leader rises against coup plotters
Top diplomats from the United Nations, African Union and the Economic Community of West African States will Thursday (today) storm Abuja, the nation’s capital, to take major decisions at an Extraordinary Summit on the political development in the Niger Republic.
The summit, which is expected to plot the ouster of the junta, will be hosted by the Chairman of the ECOWAS of Heads of States and Government, President Bola Tinubu.
This came as the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs warned the Federal Government and ECOWAS against carrying out a military action in Niger.
The Deputy Secretary-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Prof. Salisu Shehu in a statement on Wednesday, warned that sanctions, like the ones imposed by ECOWAS, would be counter-productive and would have “socio-economic negative implications for both Nigerians and Nigeriens especially as we share common history and borders.”
The warning came as a former emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, on Wednesday, met with Tchiani in Niamey to discuss the political impasse which resulted from the overthrow of President Bazoum.
Photos of the two men were circulated on social media but there was no information on the outcome of their meeting.
Also, it could not be ascertained if Sanusi was in Niamey at the instance of President Tinubu.
Sanusi meets Tinubu
Meanwhile, Sanusi also met Tinubu at the Presidential Villa on Wednesday following the ex-emir’s meeting with the junta leader. He however, refused to discuss details of his meeting with the President.
The former emir, who told journalists he was in the Villa to brief Tinubu on the outcome of his meeting with the military leaders of Niger, said he was well received in the landlocked country.
According to him, he went on the peace mission without any directive from the government.
“I came to brief him on the details of my discussions with leaders of Niger. We’ll continue to do our best to bring the two parties together to improve understanding. This is the time for public diplomacy, it’s not a matter that we leave to governments, all Nigerians, all Nigeriens need to be involved to find a solution that works for Africa, a solution that works for Niger that works for Nigeria and a solution that works for humanity”, he said.
Asked if he was a government emissary on the mission, he said “No, I was not sent by the government. Government officials were aware I was going, but it was my personal initiative, using my personal contacts to get there and I will continue to do my best. It is my duty as a leader to do that”.
Meanwhile, Tinubu, as the chairman of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government, met with leaders of various Islamic sects in the country, who sought his approval to intervene and negotiate with their counterparts in Niger Republic.
Sheikh Bala Lau of Izalla group and Sheikh Abdurahman Ahmad of Ansar ud Deen, flanked by leaders of other sects, addressed journalists after their meeting with Tinubu.
Sheikh Lau said, “we thank Allah that He gave us the opportunity to meet with Mr. President and the delegation of Ulama from here in Nigeria met with Mr. President on the issue of Niger Republic. We want to find a lasting solution, we want peace and harmony to reign, not only in Nigeria, but in the sub-Saharan region and in globe as well.
“The Ulama advised Mr. President that we want peace and reconciliation. If anything happens between you and your neighbour, the holy Quran commands you to reconcile, so we want reconciliation.
“That’s why we are here and our able leader and President accepted the offer that he wants us to intervene and to talk to our brothers in Niger Republic, the scholars also there on how we can come together and bring a lasting solution to this problem.
However, a former rebel leader and politician in Niger, Rhissa Ag Boula, launched a movement opposing the military government that took power in a July 26 coup, a first sign of internal resistance to army rule in the strategically important Sahel country.
Boula said his new Council of Resistance for the Republic aimed to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum who has been in detention at his residence since the takeover.
However, in line with the resolve to restore constitutional democracy in Niger, the UN, AU and ECOWAS will hold a joint meeting to fashion out a solution to the political impasse in the landlocked country.
A senior diplomat said that the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for West Africa and the Sahel, Leonardo Santos Simão, would be at the special session.
‘’The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for West Africa and the Sahel is the spokesman on the Niger issue and he is likely to be at the next ECOWAS meeting,’’ the source said on the condition of anonymity.
The junta led by Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani had defiantly refused to yield to entreaties and diplomatic pressure to restore Bazoum to office.
Following the coup, the regional bloc imposed a battery of sanctions on the francophone country to compel the military leaders to reinstate the ousted president.
But the military leaders snubbed a one-week ultimatum to restore democracy issued by ECOWAS and also refused to meet with a delegation led by former military president Abdulsalami Abubakar last Thursday.
On Monday, the junta similarly denied the Acting United States Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland access to the coup leader and Bazoum, who was being held in the presidential palace.
Also, plans by a joint UN, AU, ECOWAS delegation to visit Niamey on Tuesday was aborted after the coup leaders said they were unavailable to meet with the mission.
On Tuesday, Presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, told journalists in Abuja that more sanctions had been imposed on individuals and entities relating with the military junta.
This newspaper gathered that the new sanctions imposed by the Central Bank of Nigeria would prevent Nigerien banks from carrying out financial transactions with their Nigerian counterparts. The restriction also applied to the coupists and their collaborators.
As the opposition to the coup gains momentum, a former Niger rebel, Boula said in a statement Wednesday that his anti-coup movement would reverse the military intervention in his country.
“Niger is the victim of a tragedy orchestrated by people charged with protecting it,” the statement said.
Boula led uprisings by Tuaregs, a nomadic ethnic group in Niger’s desert north, in the 1990s and 2000s.
Like many former rebels, he was integrated into the government under Bazoum and his predecessor, Mahamadou Issoufou.
The rebel endorsed ECOWAS and any other international actors seeking to restore constitutional order in Niger, adding that his group would make itself available to the bloc for any useful purpose.
Another CRR member said several Nigerien political figures had joined the group but could not make their allegiance public for safety reasons.
While the extent of support for the CRR is unclear, Boula’s statement will worry the coup leaders given his influence among Tuaregs who control commerce and politics in much of the vast north.
Support from Tuaregs would be key to securing the military government’s control beyond Niamey’s city limits.
However, Reuters reports that a video statement by army spokesman Amadou Abdramane, on Wednesday, provided no evidence to such a claim.
Abdramane accused France of wanting to create an insecure atmosphere to undermine the credibility of the junta.
The father of the late Mary Habila, Mr. Tanko Habila Wisdom, has appealed to the authorities to release his daughter’s body for burial, insisting that the family is not interested in an autopsy.
Speaking in an emotional video, Tanko said his only desire was to give his daughter a proper burial, lamenting that her body had been kept for too long.
“I am Tanko Habila Wisdom, the father of the late Mary Habila. I don’t have much to say in this case. All that I want is the corpse of my daughter,” he said.
“You don’t keep the corpse of a little child for so long like this. That is why I am here to say once and for all that I need the corpse of my daughter so that I can take her for burial. That is what I am standing on.”
He maintained that the family does not want an autopsy to be conducted, reiterating his demand for the immediate release of the body.
“I don’t want the autopsy, and that is why I am demanding the corpse of my daughter so we can bury her now,” he added.
Tanko also disclosed that the family had enjoyed a cordial relationship with the Minister of Works, David Umahi, where his daughter worked, and stressed that they were not accusing anyone over her death.
“We have been having a very cordial relationship with the Minister of Works, her workplace, and we don’t want that autopsy they are talking about,” he said.
“I am not suspecting anybody because death can occur at any time. Even as we are standing here now, one can fall down and die.”
The family’s appeal comes amid ongoing public interest in the circumstances surrounding Mary Habila’s death, with calls from different quarters for clarity over the incident.
See Video:
Residents and businesses in several parts of Enugu State were plunged into darkness on Friday evening following an explosion at the Gariki Injection Substation.
MainPower Electricity Distribution Limited (MEDL) confirmed the incident in a statement issued by its Head of Communications, Mr. Emeka Ezeh.
According to the company, the explosion occurred at about 7:30 p.m. on Friday, July 17, 2026, and damaged the indoor 11kV breaker at the Gariki Injection Substation, resulting in a power outage across multiple communities served by the Army and Gariki 11kV feeders.
The affected areas under the Army 11kV feeder include Army Barracks, One Day Road, Meniru, Upper Meniru and Joe Continental.
Communities affected under the Gariki 11kV feeder include Gariki Market, Mayor Market, Roban Stores along Agbani Road, Crunchies on Agbani Road, Mobile Police Barracks, Amechi Road, Upper Mount, Ikiriki, Emeka Ebila, Ozalla Street, Egbonnaji, Nnaji Ogbodo, Idaw River, Igbariam Street, Liberation, Mount, Umuchu, Achina, Vance, Unubi, Enugu Agidi, Amawbia, Amokwe, Kenneth, Amah and Hill Crest.
MEDL said its technical team has commenced a comprehensive assessment of the damage and is working to restore electricity supply to the affected areas as quickly as possible.
The company apologised for the disruption and appealed to customers for patience and understanding while repair work continues.
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Habila Family Lawyer: Umahi Repeatedly Requested Autopsy, Family Declined; Petitions IGP Over Delay in Releasing Body (Video)
The lawyer to the family of late nurse Mary Habila, Barrister Yusuf, has disclosed that Minister of Works David Umahi repeatedly requested that an autopsy be conducted to determine the cause of her death, but the family consistently declined the request, citing personal, cultural, and traditional reasons.
Speaking during a press briefing at the Force Headquarters in Abuja on Friday, Yusuf said the family had petitioned the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) over the continued refusal of the Ebonyi State Commissioner of Police to release Habila’s body for burial.
According to him, Mary Habila, who died on June 27, 2026, was a registered nurse employed by the David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences, Uburu, before she was seconded to the Minister of Works’ office, where she had worked for about three years.
He dismissed claims circulating on social media about her profession and character, insisting that Habila was a civil servant with employment records and payslips to support the family’s position.
“It is imperative to state that late Mary Habila was not a physiotherapist. She was a nurse and a civil servant who worked in the minister’s office after being seconded from the university,” Yusuf said.
The lawyer alleged that despite the family’s compliance with police procedures to retrieve the body for burial, it has remained in custody without any explanation from the Ebonyi State Police Command.
He further accused unnamed individuals of attempting to politicise Habila’s death.
“From all indications, some people want to use her death as a pawn in their political manoeuvring just to score cheap political points,” he said.
Yusuf also confirmed that Umahi had, on several occasions, requested that an autopsy be carried out.
“The minister has repeatedly called for an autopsy, but the family has consistently rejected it because of personal, cultural and traditional reasons,” he stated.
He also rejected allegations questioning Habila’s character, describing them as false and defamatory.
“Mary Habila was never a ‘runs girl’ or anything of that nature. She was in Abuja working with the minister in her official capacity,” he added.
Yusuf said the family, accompanied by Habila’s parents, relatives and one of her colleagues, visited the office of the Inspector-General of Police to formally submit their petition seeking the immediate release of her remains.
He expressed hope that the IGP would intervene and direct the Ebonyi State Police Command to release the body so the family could give her a befitting burial.
The petition comes amid growing public interest and controversy surrounding the circumstances of Habila’s death, with the family insisting that their immediate concern is recovering her body for burial.
See Video:
Mary Habila’s Family Petitions IGP over CP’s Refusal to Release Corpse for Burial
The family of late Mary Habila has petitioned the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, over the alleged refusal of the Ebonyi State Commissioner of Police to release her body for burial more than two weeks after her death.
In a petition dated July 17, 2026, and submitted through their solicitors, K.A. Yusuf & Associates, the family accused the Ebonyi State Police Command of unlawfully withholding Habila’s remains despite their compliance with all legal requirements for its release.
The petition, addressed to the IGP at the Nigeria Police Force Headquarters in Abuja, stated that Mary Habila, a staff member of the David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences, Uburu, died on June 27, 2026, under circumstances that were reported to the police. Since then, the body has remained in a designated mortuary under the authority of the Ebonyi State Police Command.
According to the family’s lawyers, repeated applications, personal visits and full compliance with every lawful requirement communicated by the police have failed to secure the release of the corpse for burial.
The petition described the continued detention of the body as arbitrary and oppressive, arguing that it has denied the family the opportunity to perform customary and religious burial rites while inflicting emotional, psychological, financial and cultural hardship.
“It is our client’s respectful position that the continued detention of his daughter’s corpse without lawful justification is arbitrary, oppressive, and inconsistent with the principles of justice, fairness and respect for human dignity,” the petition stated.
The family further expressed a loss of confidence in the Ebonyi State Commissioner of Police, urging the IGP to intervene.
Specifically, the petition requested the IGP to transfer the case from the Ebonyi State Police Command to the Force Headquarters in Abuja, direct the immediate release of Mary Habila’s body for burial, order disciplinary or administrative action against any officer found to have acted unlawfully, and issue any further directives necessary to ensure justice is served.
The lawyers also urged the police authorities to communicate the legal basis for withholding the body and provide a timeline for concluding investigations instead of keeping the remains indefinitely.
The petition follows growing public attention surrounding Habila’s death, with her family insisting on the release of her remains.
The family had earlier said they suspect no foul play in her death and preferred an end to police investigations.
News
NWOBODO VS OGBUANU: Drama in Enugu High Court as Former Governor Substitutes Legal Team, Halts Proceedings
ENUGU, NIGERIA — A high-stakes legal battle involving the former Governor of old Anambra State, Chief Senator Jim Nwobodo, his wife, and a prominent Enugu medical practitioner, Dr. Basil Kenechukwu Ogbuanu, was unexpectedly stalled at the Enugu State High Court following a dramatic, last-minute change in the defendants’ legal representation.
The abrupt shake-up in the defense lineup forced a halt to the scheduled proceedings, preventing the court from hearing key applications in the multi-party land and property dispute.
The presiding judge, Justice C.C. Ani, was forced to adjourn the matter on Thursday to October 22, 2026, to allow the plaintiff’s legal team sufficient time to study a wave of newly substituted court processes filed by the defendants’ new counsel.
The legal battle, registered under Suit No. E/328/2026, pits Dr. Ogbuanu against Chief Senator Jim Nwobodo, his wife, Barrister (Mrs) Patricia Nwobodo, and seven other corporate and individual defendants.
The co-defendants in the sprawling suit include Linkana Hotels Limited, Mr. Gerald Asogwa, Kingsley U. Chime, Surveyor G.C. Ishiwu, Millennium Construction & Estate Developers Limited, Hon. Titus Okechi, and Moss Island Limited.
At the resumed hearing on Thursday, the court was officially notified that the Nwobodos and their co-defendants had formally debriefed their former legal representative, the distinguished Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Iyom A.J. Offiah of Obra Legal.
In her place, the defendants briefed Chief C. Chuma Oguejiofor, Esq., of Chuma Oguejiofor & Co. (House of Law), based on Carter Street, Ogui Road, Enugu, to take over their defense.
Upon taking charge of the defense, Chief Oguejiofor immediately moved to withdraw all legal processes previously filed on behalf of the defendants by their former counsel on July 6, 2026.
The defense then substituted those withdrawn documents with a brand-new set of applications, affidavits, and objections, which were formally filed in the court’s registry on July 16, 2026.
Dr. Ogbuanu’s lead counsel, Onyechi Araka, did not oppose the sudden withdrawal and subsequent replacement of the defense’s processes, recognizing the defendants’ constitutional right to choice of counsel.
Araka, however, strongly urged the court for an adjournment, stating that his team required adequate time to meticulously study and analyze the newly filed processes, which they intend to vigorously contest.
Recognizing the fundamental principles of fair hearing and the plaintiff’s right of reply, Justice Ani granted the application for adjournment, scheduling October 22, 2026, for the hearing of all pending applications.
Among the new filings introduced by the Oguejiofor-led defense team is a crucial Notice of Preliminary Objection aiming to terminate the plaintiff’s lawsuit at its foundational stage.
The objection, brought pursuant to Section 86(6) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended) and various provisions of the High Court Rules of Enugu State 2020, prays the court to set aside the service of the originating processes on the defendants.
Alternatively, the defendants are asking the court to strike out or dismiss the entire suit in limine (at the threshold), arguing that it is entirely incompetent and constitutes a gross abuse of the judicial process.
In the grounds listed for the application, the defense contends that the originating and other vital processes in the suit were never properly served on the defendants.
The defense further launched a scathing critique of the lawsuit’s drafting, describing the plaintiff’s pleadings as “unnecessarily verbose, circumlocutory, imprecise, windy, and mostly lacking in meaning.”
Crucially, the defendants argue that Dr. Ogbuanu’s lawsuit is a direct and abusive replication of an active, pre-existing lawsuit.
According to court documents, a prior lawsuit, Suit No. E/244/2025, between Dr. (Mrs) Patricia Nwobodo & Anor vs. Dr. Basil Ogbuanu, was filed on March 1, 2026, long before the present suit was instituted, involving the same parties and subject matter.
The defense also raised a structural jurisdictional issue, asserting that the police and other public officers whose presence is imperative for a comprehensive and final determination of the dispute were not joined as parties.
Furthermore, they argue that the suit is legally barred by Section 9(1) of the Actions Law, Revised Laws of Enugu State 2004, and that requisite pre-action notices were never served on the public officers involved.
In a supporting affidavit sworn to at the High Court Registry, Chidinma Edeh, a litigation clerk at Chuma Oguejiofor & Co., averred that she had the explicit consent of the defendants to depose to the facts of the change of counsel and the preliminary objection.
As both legal teams retreat to their chambers to draft their respective responses, members of the Enugu legal community and public observers are keeping a close watch on the High Court ahead of the high-stakes showdown on October 22.
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