Adamu Garba, a prominent member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has voiced his concerns, alleging that the United States and France have devised a trap for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to engage in a full-fledged war in the region.

He warned that any military intervention in Niger could have dire consequences for Nigeria.

Garba’s statement comes in the aftermath of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government’s emergency meeting held in Abuja on Sunday. During the meeting, a seven-day ultimatum was given to General Abdourahamane Tchiani, who is believed to be the mastermind behind the supposed coup in Niger Republic, to relinquish power and return it to Mohammed Bazoom.

Taking to his verified Twitter handle on Sunday, Garba urged President Bola Tinubu to stand firm and resist pressure from France and the U.S., which may seek military action by ECOWAS against Niger. Instead, the APC chieftain encouraged Tinubu to consider a non-kinetic and diplomatic approach to address the situation.

He wrote, “The West, under France and the U.S have perfectly set a TRAP for ECOWAS to go into a total war in the region. Any mistake of military intervention in Niger means we are done with.

“President Tinubu must be courageous enough to resist French and U.S pressure on ECOWAS to wage any military action against Niger. We must use a non-kinetic, diplomatic approach. 

“If we make a mistake of involving military means in Niger, we may end up inviting more internal problems to ourselves and to the effort we made so hard in building a democratic government in place.

“The truth of the matter is, West Africa has failed to protect democracy. Our only option now is to learn from the failures and prevent repeating it, not to completely destroy our region in the interest of Western Powers, against our security interests.”