Sahel Exit: Buratai Tasks AU to Lead Rescue Mission for Ailing ECOWAS

ABUJA – Former Chief of Army Staff and diplomat, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai (Rtd), has sent an SOS to the African Union (AU), warning that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is currently in an “intensive care unit” following the departure of three key Sahelian members.

​Speaking on Thursday at the 2026 Voice of Nigeria (VON) Forum in Abuja, Buratai argued that the regional bloc cannot claim to be united while Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger remain outside the fold. The three nations officially severed ties with ECOWAS on January 29, 2025, a move that has since triggered a diplomatic and security vacuum in the sub-region.

​”One Umbilical Cord”

​Buratai, who previously served as Nigeria’s Ambassador to the Benin Republic, employed a medical metaphor to describe the current state of regional integration.

​”We are all of the same umbilical cord,” Buratai told the forum, themed 51 Years of Nigeria’s Role in Deepening Democratic Stability in ECOWAS. “As it is today, we are already in the incubator or intensive care unit. But by and large, I believe diplomacy will work.”

​He called on the AU to step in as a senior mediator to bridge the widening rift between the ECOWAS headquarters in Abuja and the military-led transition governments in the Sahel. Buratai also challenged the League of African Ambassadors to intensify “back-channel” diplomacy to restore the bloc’s 15-nation status.

ADVERTISEMENT

​The Cost of Disunity

​The withdrawal of the three states has raised alarms beyond mere politics. Human rights advocates warn that the exit has stripped citizens in those countries of access to the ECOWAS Court of Justice, leaving victims of abuses with little recourse.

​Buratai reminded the audience of Nigeria’s massive historical investments. “Nigeria has sacrificed and invested in blood, treasure, and diplomacy to defend democracy. Our stability is inseparable from the security of our neighbors,” he noted.

​EFCC: Tackling “Cross-Border” Looting

​Sharing the stage, the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ola Olukoyede, revealed a new regional offensive against financial crimes that ignores national borders.

​Olukoyede announced that a new protocol for the Network of Anti-Corruption Agencies and Institutions in West Africa is set to be operationalized within months. The agreement will allow EFCC operatives to conduct investigations in countries like Ghana or Senegal as if they were on Nigerian soil.

​”We are going to share intelligence and evidence so that there will be no embargo on me going to any part of West Africa to carry out investigations,” Olukoyede stated.

​Media Bias and the “Opposition” Shield

​The EFCC boss also used the platform to fire a shot at the media, accusing some outlets of providing “editorial cover” for corrupt individuals under the guise of political victimization.

​He cited a recent case involving $35 million stolen from the treasury, intended for a modular refinery. “We went to the site; even the grass was not cleared. But the moment I arraigned the suspect, an editorial claimed I was witch-hunting the opposition,” Olukoyede lamented.

​He urged journalists to look at the “proof of evidence” rather than the party card of the defendant, insisting that regional stability depends as much on transparent justice as it does on diplomatic mediation.