The three countries, which are currently under military rule, said they ceased to be members of ECOWAS as the regional body had allegedly “moved away from the ideals of its founding fathers and pan-Africanism.”

But the ECOWAS Commission, in a swift reaction, said it was not aware of the withdrawal of the three countries, adding that “Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali remain important members of the Community and the Authority.”

In a joint statement on Sunday “done in Ouagadougou, Bamako and Niamey” by their military leaders, Capt. Ibrahim Traoré (Burkina Faso), Col. Assimi Goita (Mali), and Brig. Gen. Abdourahamane Tiani (Niger Republic), the three countries announced their withdrawal from ECOWAS.

They claimed that ECOWAS had become a threat to its member states.

“Eager to achieve integration between the states of the sub-region and driven by the ideals of brotherhood, solidarity, mutual aid, peace and development, their Excellencies General Aboubacar Sangoulé Lamizana, General Moussa Traoré and Lieutenant Colonel Seyni Kountchė, respectively Heads of State of Upper Volta (current Burkina Faso), Mali and Niger, created with12 of their peers, on May 28, 1975, in Lagos, the Economic Community of West African States.

“After 49 years of existence, the valiant people of Burkina, Mali and Niger note with much regret, bitterness and great disappointment that their organisation has moved away from the ideals of its founding fathers and pan-Africanism.

“Furthermore, ECOWAS, under the influence of foreign powers, betraying its founding principles, has become a threat to its member states and its populations whose happiness it is supposed to ensure,” the statement read.

The joint statement accused ECOWAS of failing to assist the three countries in fighting “existential” threats like terrorism — the common reason cited by their militaries for deposing their democratically elected governments.

“Indeed, the organisation has not provided assistance to our states in the context of our existential fight against terrorism and insecurity; worse, when these states decided to take their destiny into their own hands, it adopted an irrational and unacceptable posture by imposing illegal, illegitimate, inhumane and irresponsible sanctions in violation of its own texts; all things which have further weakened populations already bruised by years of violence imposed by instrumentalised and remote-controlled terrorist hordes,” they said.

They noted that their membership withdrawal was with immediate effect.

“Faced with this continuing situation, Their Excellencies, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, Colonel Assimi Goita and Brigadier General Abdourahamane Tiani, respectively Heads of State of Burkina Faso, the Republic of Mali and the Republic of Niger, taking all their responsibilities in the face of history and responding to the expectations, concerns and aspirations of their populations, decide in complete sovereignty on the immediate withdrawal of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger from the Economic Community of West African States,” it added.

But responding in a communique released in Abuja on Sunday, the ECOWAS Commission said it had yet to receive a direct formal notification about Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger’s withdrawal from the West Africa regional bloc.

“The attention of the Commission of the Economic Community of West African States has been drawn to a statement broadcast on the National Televisions of Mali and Niger announcing the decision of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger to withdraw from ECOWAS.

The ECOWAS Commission is yet to receive any direct formal notification from the three member states about their intention to withdraw from the community.

“The ECOWAS Commission, as directed by the Authority of Heads of State and Government, has been working assiduously with these countries for the restoration of constitutional order.

“Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali remain important members of the Community and the Authority remains committed to finding a negotiated solution to the political impasse.

The ECOWAS Commission remains seized with the development and shall make further pronouncements as the situation evolves,” the communique read.

Struggling with jihadist violence and poverty, the regimes have had tense ties with ECOWAS since coups took place in Niger last July, Burkina Faso in 2022 and Mali in 2020.

All three were suspended from ECOWAS, with Niger and Mali facing heavy sanctions.

ECOWAS had imposed economic sanctions on Niger in July 2023, following a military coup which ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.

The sanctions include a ban on travel, border closure and a freeze on assets belonging to the government and its supporters.

The prime minister appointed by Niger’s military regime on Thursday blasted ECOWAS for “bad faith” after the bloc largely shunned a planned meeting in Niamey.

Sunday’s announcement was the latest twist in a series of events that had deepened political tension in West Africa since it experienced its latest of a string of coups — in Niger — last year. It also comes as the three nations have formed a security alliance after severing military ties with France and other European nations and turning to Russia for support.

Meanwhile, the President of the ECOWAS Court, Justice Edward Asante, on Sunday, called on justices and other court officials to strive for the unity of member countries.

He encouraged them to avoid conflicts and any behaviour that could harm the court’s ability to fulfill its assigned mandate.

He spoke at the dinner and award ceremony held on Saturday to mark the commencement of activities for the new year in Abuja.

Asante said, “Let us work together as a family so that we can achieve everything we want to achieve for our communities. We should bear in mind that we are not working for ourselves but for our communities. We have to be more committed and dedicated. We should be able to do other tasks assigned to us. To benefit the entire subregion and especially the indigent citizens of our community. I will also urge us to foster unity. Which is the most important thing for our court. We need to work together as one family. Bickering among each other will not help us to achieve the mandates of the court.”

Asante also called on court staff to prepare for upcoming cost-cutting measures to be implemented throughout the year.

This, he said was a result of the dwindling revenue of the court.

He said,  “The community we work for is in serious financial crisis.  Community levy is dwindling and we have to bear in mind that missions are going to reduce. Today you might be selected for a mission, and be very important for a particular mission the next time you may not be.

“Everybody should brace themselves up for it. It is not about favoritism but the quality of work and relevance to particular programmes. We did very well last year and we should pat ourselves on the back and look up to a better year this year. ‘’

The court was founded in 2001 to uphold and apply principles of equity in interpreting and applying the provisions of the Revised Treaty, along with other legal instruments adopted by member countries.

The court is located in the Federal Capital Territory,  Abuja.

The leaders of the three Sahel nations on Sunday issued a statement saying it was a “sovereign decision” to leave the ECOWAS “without delay”.

Struggling with jihadist violence and poverty, the regimes have had tense ties with ECOWAS since coups took place in Niger last July, Burkina Faso in 2022 and Mali in 2020.

All three were suspended from ECOWAS, with Niger and Mali facing heavy sanctions.

According to a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, Buhari spoke after receiving updates from former President Goodluck Jonathan, on the conflict between Mali and Cote d’Ivoire over the latter’s soldiers who have been detained since July 2022.

The statement is titled, ‘Mali Updates: ECOWAS Special Envoy, Goodluck Jonathan, briefs President Buhari.’

About 49 Ivorian soldiers had been detained in Mali for “unlawful entry.”

On Sunday, September 4, only the three females in the team had been released, leaving 46 in custody.

The months-long issue has strained diplomatic relations between the two West African States.

Cote d’Ivoire condemned the act as “hostage taking” and said it may take action, prompting the intervention of ECOWAS leaders, as advocated by the Special Envoy, former President Jonathan.

Buhari, on his part, pledged an initiative from Nigeria towards an immediate resolution of the diplomatic deadlock.

Osinbajo will be at the meeting, which is coming as part of the resolutions reached last week’s virtual meeting chaired by Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo

Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, disclosed this in a statement he signed on Thursday morning titled ‘President delegates Osinbajo to ECOWAS Extraordinary Summit on political situation in Burkina Faso, Mali & Guinea.’

According to Akande, Thursday’s meeting will “review the report of the ECOWAS delegation dispatched to Ouagadougou to meet with the military junta who recently seized power in Burkina Faso.

“The summit will be attended by regional leaders who will consider imposing additional sanctions after the country was suspended from the regional body last week.”

In a statement read on national television Monday, the military regime’s spokesman Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga announced the recall of Bamako’s ambassadors to the West African nations involved and the closure of air and land borders with them.

ECOWAS and the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) on Sunday imposed a range of economic and diplomatic measures against Mali, including border closures and a trade embargo, saying the junta’s intention to remain in power for several more years was “totally unacceptable”.

The meeting in Ghana of regional leaders followed months of increasing tensions over the timetable for restoring civilian rule in Mali after two coups and a military takeover.

“The government of Mali strongly condemns these illegal and illegitimate sanctions,” said the junta’s statement.

It accused ECOWAS and UEMOA of being “exploited by extra-regional powers with ulterior motives,” an apparent reference to Mali’s partners engaged militarily in the Sahel such as France, which has thousands of troops battling a jihadist insurgency.

The junta said it “deplores the inhuman nature of these measures which affect populations already severely affected by the security crisis and the health crisis.”

Faced with the West African embargo, the junta said it had made arrangements to ensure normal supplies “by all appropriate means” and called on the population to remain calm.

Mali was rocked by coups in August 2020 and May 2021 and swathes of the vast desert nation country are not under government control due to a jihadist insurgency that emerged in the north in 2012.

The Economic Community of West African States sanctions “do not sufficiently take into account the deep aspirations of the Malian people and the efforts made on a daily basis by the transition authorities,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.

“The government regrets the decisions taken” at a weekend ECOWAS summit in the Ghanaian capital Accra, it said.

ECOWAS on Sunday called on the junta to honour a timetable for a return to democracy and “decided to sanction all those implicated in the delay” in organising elections set for February 27.

Mali has “officially written” to Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo, who holds the rotating presidency of the 15-nation ECOWAS, to inform him that the Sahel country could not hold elections as planned.

The sanctions against members of the transition government will take immediate effect and travel bans and asset freezes target family members as well.

In a final declaration following Sunday’s summit, ECOWAS said it “highly deplores the lack of progress” towards staging elections in Mali.

It threatened to impose additional sanctions at a new meeting on December 12 “if the situation persists”.

France has 5,100 troops in the Sahel region and has helped in the war against Islamist militancy but Macron has warned of the risk of Mali “moving towards” greater Islamist influence if there is no democratic government in place.

For decades France has provided military support to its former colonies in Africa but has told regional leaders that France had no intention of keeping its troops in Africa forever.

Macron is also annoyed by a lack of commitment from other European countries to fight the multiple militant Islamist groups in the region as Europe could be affected by possible jihadist attacks on the continent and illegal migration.

Last week, France and the European Union denounced an “unacceptable coup d’etat” after Mali’s interim President Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane were detained and stripped of their power. Coup leader Colonel Assimi Goïta was then named transitional president by the constitutional court on Friday.

Macron speaking to Le Journal du Dimanche newspaper said “Radical Islamism in Mali with our soldiers there? Never. There is this temptation today in Mali. But if it goes in that direction, I will withdraw”

Buhari while receiving his predecessor, who currently serves as Special Envoy and ECOWAS mediator to Mali, urged disputing parties in the ongoing political crisis in Mali to settle their differences and unite for the peace and unity of the country.

The Personal Assistant on New media to the President, Bashir Ahmed, made this known in a statement titled ‘President Buhari, Jonathan confer on crisis in Mali.’

The statement read, “President Muhammadu Buhari Friday in Abuja called on the actors in the political crisis in Mali to come together for the peace and unity of the country.

“The President spoke when he received in audience former President Goodluck Jonathan who is Special Envoy and ECOWAS mediator to the West African country.”

The statement also quoted the President as saying that “a situation where most parts of the country are in the hands of insurgents calls for a consensus and restoration of peace, not a further escalation of the crisis.”

Government sources told Reuters that President Bah Ndaw, Prime Minister Moctar Ouane and Defence Minister Souleymane Doucoure were all taken to a military base in Kati outside the capital Bamako, hours after two members of the military and first coup leaders lost their positions in a government reshuffle.

The two coup leaders, Ex-Defence Minister Sadio Camara and Ex-Security Minister Colonel Modibo Kone were replaced on Monday, May 24.

Their detentions followed the military ouster in August of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. The development could exacerbate instability in the West African country where violent Islamist groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State control large areas of the desert north.

In a joint statement, the UN, ECOWAS, AU and other international bodies called for the “immediate and unconditional release” of Mali’s civilian leadership and said, “the international community rejects in advance any act of coercion, including forced resignations”.

An ECOWAS delegation is expected to visit Bamako on Tuesday, May 25 to help resolve the “attempted coup”.

Former Defence Minister Bah Ndaw, 70, was picked by the coup leader, Colonel Assimi Goita, to head a transitional government until elections, which are expected in 18 months.

Col Goita will be his vice-president.

The appointment of a civilian president was a condition for the West African regional group, Ecowas, to lift the sanctions it imposed after the coup.

Stocks of goods are running low in the capital, Bamako, where businesses are hoping for an announcement from Ecowas after the inauguration.

West African heads of state are afraid the coup in Mali may lead to other uprisings in a region that is facing several elections in the coming months.

Members of the opposition M5-RFP coalition which organised mass protests against the ousted leader will also be watching closely, having already felt sidelined in the process of appointing a replacement.

The next 18 months will be crucial in determining how close or far Mali steers from democracy.

A Soviet-trained helicopter pilot who rose through the ranks of Mali’s air force, Mr Ndaw most recently served as defense minister for the ousted President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta.

He left in 2015 after less than a year, prompting speculation in the national press of fallout over reintegrating deserters into the military.

During his brief stint as minister, Mr Ndaw signed a defense deal in 2014 with former colonial power France, whose troops had intervened a year earlier to fight Islamist rebels.

He previously served as an aide to late President Moussa Traoré.

Over his decorated career, Mr Ndaw graduated from France’s elite Ecole de guerre, and received the National Order of Mali plus the Medal of Military Merit as well as the Medal of National Merit.

People close to the retired colonel-major are said to call him “Le Grand” (The Tall) because of his imposing 6ft 4in (1.95cm) height.

President Keïta was overthrown on 18 August following mass protests against his rule over corruption, the mismanagement of the economy, and a dispute over legislative elections.

Mali is also struggling with intense Islamist violence, with thousands of French, African, and UN troops based in the country to tackle the militants.

The coup sparked international condemnation, but it was welcomed by many Malians.