Femi Falana, human rights lawyer, has asked President Bola Tinubu and chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to restore electricity to Niger Republic amid the military coup in the country.

This came after Nigeria cut off power supply to Niger, as sanctions against the neighbouring country by ECOWAS increased.

In a statement on Friday, Mr Falana said Mr Tinubu should rather place sanctions on the coup leaders instead of the masses in the country.

He explained that the masses in the country are suffering from a lack of power supply while the military junta has switched to generating sets after the country was cut off.

“In view of the fact that the disconnection of electricity has no negative effect on the members of the military regime, President Tinubu should direct the Nigerian Electricity Regulation Commission to restore light to the Niger Republic forthwith.

“All sanctions should be limited to the members of the Nigerien military junta with a view to fast-tracking the restoration of democratic rule. The military regimes in Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali and Niger should be treated equally by the Ecowas and the African Union since they have been involved in unconstitutional changes of governments,” an excerpt from Mr Falana’s statement read.

On Thursday, ECOWAS directed the deployment of standby military troops to restore constitutional order in the country.

The directive was issued at the end of its second extraordinary meeting held in Abuja to address the political crisis in Niger.

The resolve to deploy force comes days after the military junta in Niger defied the ECOWAS deadline to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.

The regional bloc had threatened the use of force as a last option if the military authorities in Niger remained recalcitrant.

Late last month, the military ousted the democratically elected Mr Bazoum in Niger and suspended the constitution in the country.

The coup d’etat in the country has continued to attract wide condemnation, mostly from international communities, even as the coupists placed Mr Bazoum under house detention.