After a military junta removed the democratically elected leader, Mohamed Bazoum, a blackout occurred in Niger Republic. The country’s electricity company, Nigelec, revealed that this power outage was caused by Nigeria’s decision to halt power supply to Niger. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) leaders have stated their intention to impose sanctions on Niger, but it remains uncertain whether these sanctions will include electricity provisions.
It is worth noting that Niger relies on Nigeria for approximately 70 percent of its electricity, which is primarily generated from the Kainji Dam.
According to the BBC, people living in Niamey, Maradi, and Zinder experienced power outages, with electricity being available for only one hour before being turned off for up to five hours. This situation is uncommon in Niger, a country known for having regular and dependable power supplies.
An unidentified source informed the publication that the power supply to Niger was interrupted on August 1st due to a presidential order.
Currently, defense chiefs from ECOWAS are gathered in Nigeria to discuss the possibility of a military intervention to reverse the coup in Niger. However, the ruling military juntas in Mali and Burkina Faso have cautioned ECOWAS against any interference in Niger, claiming that any military action against the new regime would be regarded as a “declaration of war” against them. As a result, they did not send their defense chiefs to attend the ECOWAS meeting in Abuja.
