Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has lifted all economic sanctions against neighbouring Niger, eight months after the country’s military coup.
He ordered the immediate opening of Niger’s borders, the resumption of civil flights and the provision of electricity.
Exports of livestock, onions, etc. from Niger to Nigeria have decreased significantly.
Import-dependent Niger suffers from shortages of essential goods, and border communities are the hardest hit by these sanctions.
Last month, the West African regional group Ecowas agreed to lift economic sanctions on Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea, which have undergone military takeovers in the past two years.
Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso had previously announced they would withdraw from Ecowas due to sanctions.
Niger’s ousted President Mohamed Bazoum has been detained by Niger’s military leaders since a coup last July.