Sema Fonkem 25/08/2025

President Ibrahim Traoré of Burkina Faso and close ally Général d’Armée Assimi Goïta of Mali did not send representatives to the 2025 African Chiefs of Defence Staff Summit hosted in Nigeria as their relationship with other Sahel and ECOWAS nations remain sour.

Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali withdrew their membership from Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on January 25 2025 following tensions from military coups in their nations. Together, they have formed a security block known as the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).

The summit was themed “Combating contemporary threats to regional peace and security in Africa: The role of strategic defence collaboration.”

Traoré, Goïta and president of Niger General Abdourahmane Tchiani cited the failure of other governments to address the security problems faced by their countries as the main reason to exit ECOWAS. The leaders have been dealing with Jihadists insurgencies which president Bola Ahmed has failed to resolve even though it was his major promise when he was sworn in as ECOWAS Chairman.

Niger was represented at the meeting held in Abuja by its Nigerian Embassy defence attaché Colonel Major Soumana Kalkoye.

Attended by high-ranking officers from different states and headed by Nigerian Defence Chief of Staff Christopher Musa, the men in uniform discussed solutions for Africa’s defence needs and security cooperation been member sates.