June 21. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The five employees of a Nigerien oil company recently detained in Benin after allegedly illegally entering a station of the oil company WAPCO, in the port of Seme-Kpodji, have now returned to Niamey, amid increasing bilateral tensions During the last months.
The employees arrived on a flight from Cotonou and were received at the Diori Hamani International Airport by the Prime Minister, Ali Mahamane Lamine Zeine, after which they paid a visit to the Presidential Palace, where they met with the leader of the junta, Abdourahmane Tchiani, according to the RTN television network.
The trip to Niger of these people takes place just a few days after the Benin Economic Crimes and Terrorism Court sentenced three of these people, including the deputy director general of WAPCO-Niger, Alkassoum Hadiza Ibrah, and another member of the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP) – the official name of the Nigerien military junta – to a suspended sentence of 18 months in prison.
These three people were charged with allegedly “using a false credential” to enter a station of the Chinese oil company WAPCO, where it is carrying out a series of works within the framework of a joint project for the construction of an oil pipeline, unleashing the criticism from Niamey, already facing Porto Novo over disputes over the export of Nigerien crude oil through the country.
Relations between Niamey and Porto Novo have been deteriorating since the coup d’état that took place in the summer of 2023 in Niger and led to the overthrow of the president, Mohamed Bazoum, leading to the imposition of sanctions and the suspension of trade. by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Add Comment