Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso quit ECOWAS for failure to assist in their “existential fight against terrorism, insecurity,”

Nigeria's President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, center first row, poses for a group photo with other West African leaders before an ECOWAS meeting in Abuja, Nigeria. Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023. West African heads of state began meeting Thursday on next steps after Niger's military junta defied their deadline to reinstate the nation's deposed president, but analysts say the bloc known as ECOWAS may be running out of options as support fades for a military intervention. (AP Photo/Gbemiga Olamikan)

USAfricaonline.com: Three West African/Sahel area countries Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso has announced today Sunday, January 28, 2024, they are leaving the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) immediately.

“After 49 years, the valiant peoples of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger regretfully and with great disappointment observe that the (ECOWAS) organization has drifted from the ideals of its founding fathers and the spirit of Pan-Africanism,” Colonel Amadou Abdramane, Niger junta spokesman, said in their joint statement.

“The organization notably failed to assist these states in their existential fight against terrorism and insecurity,” Abdramane stated in their criticism of ECOWAS.

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu is the chairman of ECOWAS, since 2023.