Regional leaders have threatened military action against the junta if it refuses to give up power.
President Bola Tinubu, who is at the helm of regional superpower Nigeria, regards the coup across the border in Niger as a litmus test for democracy in West Africa.
The regional bloc gave an ultimatum to Niger's junta - hand back power to the elected president within a week or Ecowas would take "all measures necessary to restore constitutional order". More crucially, the coup has a direct bearing on Nigeria. The two countries share a border which stretches for more than 1,500km , and they have strong cultural and trade ties that date back to the pre-colonial era when a chunk of both were part of the Sokoto caliphate.
After their coups, Mali and Burkina Faso pivoted towards Russia, with the junta in Niger giving the impression that it could move in the same direction. Only Tanzania, Zambia, Sierra Leone and Mauritania had a better democratic approval of the 36 African countries surveyed.
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