Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger summon Nigeria’s envoy over Tinubu’s remarks blaming Sahel for Nigeria’s insecurity

Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger summoned Nigeria’s chargé d’affaires in Ouagadougou on August 6, sharply criticising President Bola Tinubu for remarks made on July 30 linking Nigeria’s worsening insecurity to instability in neighbouring Sahel states — exposing fresh tensions between Nigeria and the breakaway Alliance of Sahel States (AES).

According to Business Insider, AES Foreign Minister Karamoko Jean-Marie Traoré said the bloc “would have preferred a more accurate presentation of the security situation, rather than placing the blame for a complex situation on neighbouring countries.”

The diplomatic row deepens years of strained Nigeria-AES relations dating from ECOWAS sanctions against Niger following its 2023 military coup, after which the three countries withdrew from the regional bloc entirely.