Speculation is rife over whether the Nigerian government will deploy the country’s military to Niger to restore ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.

On July 26, Niger’s military, led by Bazoum’s presidential guards, succeeded in installing a military junta. Reacting, the Economic Community of West African States met in Abuja to discuss sanctions and military intervention.

ECOWAS gave the coup plotters a seven-day ultimatum to reinstate Bazoum, and this ultimatum expires on Monday.

On Friday, Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu, who doubles as the ECOWAS chairman, wrote to the Senate to seek approval for military intervention in line with the agreement reached by ECOWAS.

This decision has divided Nigerians. Some security experts say war between Nigeria and the Republic of Niger would have negative impacts on the northwestern states of Nigeria, but others believe Nigeria has the military capacity to come up against them and win.

The big question, however, is ‘can the ECOWAS chairman send Nigeria’s military to war if Nigera’s Senate opposes the decision?’

WHAT THE CONSTITUTION SAYS

The Senate is yet to decide on the president’s request, but according to a report, some senators have met and expressed opposition to the move despite the Senate president’s appeal to them.

In the event the Senate rejects the president’s request, any moves to go ahead will run foul of the constitution and would be an impeachable offence.

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While some argue that an intervention in Niger would be ECOWAS’ decision, which would be binding on Nigeria as a member state, the constitution allows Nigeria to act in any international union within the limits of the 1999 constitution as amended.

According to Section 5, Subsection 4 (a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, “the President shall not declare a state of war between the Federation and another country except with the sanction of a resolution of both Houses of the National Assembly, sitting in a joint session.”

While the request for military intervention is not an open declaration of war, subsection 4 (b) of the same section says, “Except with the prior approval of the Senate, no member of the armed forces of the Federation shall be deployed on combat duty outside Nigeria.”

The only instance which allows the president to deploy the military without first obtaining the Senate’s approval is an imminent threat to national security, and even still, the president must inform the Senate within seven days of taking such decision. The Senate can, within 14 days of receiving this request, still reject it, and the military will return.

ECOWAS’ move, however, does not qualify as a threat to Nigeria’s national security, and despite laws biding Nigeria to the community’s decisions, Nigeria’s constitution holds that “if any other law is inconsistent with the provisions of this Constitution, this Constitution shall prevail, and that other law shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void.”