Abuja, December 9, 2025 – The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has declared a full state of emergency across its twelve remaining member states, invoking extraordinary regional powers to confront a rapid escalation of military coups, attempted mutinies, and worsening insecurity that now threatens the very survival of democratic governance in West Africa.
ECOWAS Commission President Omar Alieu Touray announced the historic decision during the 55th ordinary session of the Mediation and Security Council at ministerial level, held in Abuja on Tuesday. The emergency meeting was called in direct response to a string of destabilising events that have rocked the sub-region in recent weeks.
“The recent developments underscore the imperative of serious introspection on the future of our democracy and the urgent need to invest in the security of our community,” Touray told assembled foreign ministers, defence chiefs, and diplomats. He warned that the region is facing an unprecedented convergence of threats: jihadist insurgencies spilling south from the Sahel, chronic youth unemployment, food insecurity affecting more than 30 million people, and a wave of unconstitutional power grabs.
The immediate trigger for the declaration was the failed coup attempt in Benin on December 7, when a group of soldiers led by Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri briefly seized the national television station in Cotonou and announced the overthrow of President Patrice Talon. Loyalist forces, supported by rapid Nigerian air and ground intervention, crushed the mutiny within hours, but the shockwaves reverberated across the region.
That incident followed a series of near-misses and outright breakdowns:
- An assassination attempt on Guinea-Bissau’s army chief and former president Umaro Sissoco Embaló on December 1 amid disputed election results.
- A failed counter-coup in Sierra Leone on November 26 targeting President Julius Maada Bio.
- Deadly border clashes between Liberia and irregular armed groups in October.
The three Sahel countries that now form the breakaway Alliance of Sahel States (AES) — Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger — have been excluded from the emergency measures after formally withdrawing from ECOWAS in January 2025. Their departure, following military coups between 2020 and 2023, has deepened the regional fracture and created new security vacuums that jihadist groups have eagerly exploited.
- Under the newly declared state of emergency, ECOWAS will:
- Immediately activate its long-dormant Standby Force for joint border patrols and rapid-response deployments, beginning along the Benin–Niger and Benin–Burkina Faso frontiers.
- Impose targeted asset freezes and travel bans on individuals and entities supporting unconstitutional changes of government.
- Launch a $500 million regional security and stabilisation fund, with initial contributions from Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and international partners.
- Establish protected humanitarian corridors for the 7.6 million people currently displaced across the region.
Speaking at the same session, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, current ECOWAS chair, pledged 2,000 troops and full intelligence support, describing the emergency as “a continental imperative, not just a regional one.” Ghana’s Foreign Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey warned that without decisive collective action, “coup contagion” could spread further south to the Gulf of Guinea states.
AES leaders swiftly rejected the declaration. Burkina Faso’s Captain Ibrahim Traoré accused ECOWAS of “imperialist arrogance,” while Mali and Niger announced they were placing their joint air defences on heightened alert.
Civil society organisations offered mixed reactions. While many welcomed stronger regional coordination against terrorism and coups, others expressed concern that emergency powers could be misused to suppress legitimate protests or entrench incumbent regimes.
The ministerial decisions will be submitted for final ratification at the 67th Ordinary Summit of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government scheduled for December 15 in Abuja. If approved, the state of emergency will remain in force for an initial six months, with the possibility of renewal.
For the first time in its 50-year history, ECOWAS has placed its entire territory under a unified security emergency — a clear acknowledgement that the democratic recession and violent extremism that once seemed confined to the Sahel have now reached the Atlantic coast. Whether this bold move restores stability or provokes further confrontation with the AES bloc remains the region’s most pressing question.
