The ECOWAS Parliament has ordered an urgent investigation into rising terrorist attacks across West Africa, alongside a fresh wave of xenophobic violence targeting African migrants in South Africa.
The decision was taken on Tuesday during the First 2026 Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament in Abuja, following a motion raised by Ghanaian lawmaker and Third Deputy Speaker, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, describing the situation as a “matter of urgent direct and profound importance.”
The Parliament directed its Committee on Political Affairs to probe recent terror incidents in Mali and Burkina Faso, as well as attacks in South Africa reportedly targeting ECOWAS citizens.
Afenyo-Markin raised alarm over worsening insecurity across the region, citing the February 14 attack in northern Burkina Faso where armed militants killed 18 Ghanaian traders traveling in a truck after separating men from women before executing them and burning the vehicle.
He also referenced the April 25 attack in Mali, which resulted in the death of the country’s Defence Minister, Gen. Sadio Camara, and further disrupted the Ghana–Mali trade corridor.
According to him, insecurity has severely undermined ECOWAS’ Free Movement Protocol, with citizens increasingly exposed to harassment and violence across borders despite regional agreements.
He also condemned repeated xenophobic attacks in South Africa, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Town, and Pretoria, where African migrants, including Nigerians, Ghanaians, Zimbabweans, and Ethiopians, have been killed, displaced, and had businesses looted.
The lawmaker stressed that statements of condemnation were not enough, insisting that “words from ceremonial platforms do not arrest perpetrators,” and called for immediate investigations, prosecutions, and stronger diplomatic action.
The ECOWAS Parliament also moved to engage South Africa’s Parliament and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights to ensure accountability and protection for affected migrants across the continent.
