20-year-old Iwinosa Okunrobo, who was trafficked to Burkina Faso when she was 15, has reunited with her family on Wednesday in Benin, Edo State. Her return was facilitated by Governor Monday Okpebholo, in collaboration with the office of the First Lady and the Edo State Migration Agency. Okunrobo was lured with a promise of greener pastures but was forced into …

The triumvirate of Tchiani, Traore and Goita are behaving like petulant children. And it is now time to pull the ears of the petulants and apply tough love. You cannot continually overlook a child throwing his toys out of the pram anytime he is upset. The indulgence must stop, not too soon. It appears that we are minimising the risk …

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) member states will meet in Ghana on Tuesday to discuss the withdrawal of Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso. The meeting will take place over two days, Tuesday and Wednesday. In a statement on Tuesday, the bloc said member states will discuss the modalities of the countries’ withdrawal and its implications for ECOWAS …

The Head of the European Union Delegation to Nigeria and Economic Community of West African States, Ambassador Gautier Mignot, has called on ECOWAS to adopt a new approach in its dealings with Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, collectively known as the Alliance of Sahel States. Speaking in Abuja during a media briefing on Monday, Mignot expressed the EU’s regret over …

ECOWAS gives B/Faso, Mali, Niger 6 months to reconsider exit The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has given Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger six months, from 29 January to 29 July 2025, to reconsider their decision to exit the regional bloc. President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr Omar Touray, announced the six-month grace on Sunday in Abuja after …

  The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has approved the withdrawal of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso from the bloc from 29 January 2025. It gave the three countries up till July next year to reconsider their planned withdrawal from the regional bloc. In a communiqué after their meeting at the Presidential Villa on Sunday, the commission noted …

Burkina Faso has introduced a new biometric passport without the logo of the Economic Community of West African States, further solidifying its break from the regional bloc. The move comes after Burkina Faso, along with Niger and Mali, severed ties with ECOWAS following military coups in the three countries. The decision to issue passports without the ECOWAS insignia was announced …

President Bola Tinubu has said the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) would continue to persuade the military leaders of Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso to return their nations to the fold. President Tinubu, who is the Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, reaffirmed this position at a meeting with ECOWAS Chiefs of Defence …

Chiefs of Defence Staff in West Africa have appealed to Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso to return to the regional bloc. The chairman of the ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff and the Nigerian Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, made the appeal yesterday while leading the defence chiefs on a visit to the National Coordinator of …

The military leaders ruling Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger entered a new “confederation” Saturday as they signed a treaty during their first summit in Niamey, after having severed ties with an existing West African bloc. The heads of the three countries, who took power through coups in recent years, “decided to take a step further towards greater integration between the …