The ECOWAS Parliament has directed that an investigation be launched into the surge of terrorist attacks across West Africa, as well as the recent wave of xenophobic violence targeting African migrants in South Africa.
The resolution was reached on Tuesday during the First Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament for 2026, held in Abuja.
Lawmakers acted after Ghanaian parliamentarian and Third Deputy Speaker, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, presented a motion described as a “matter of urgent direct and profound importance.”
Following deliberations, the Parliament mandated its Committee on Political Affairs to examine recent terror incidents in the sub-region—particularly in Mali and Burkina Faso—as well as xenophobic attacks in South Africa affecting ECOWAS citizens.
In his presentation, Afenyo-Markin called for immediate accountability and stronger regional safeguards in response to growing insecurity facing West Africans both within the sub-region and abroad.
Citing Rule 71 of the Parliament, he urged colleagues to address what he termed “matters of direct and profound importance”.
“A regional community that cannot protect its own citizens in transit has not yet earned its name,” he said.
The lawmaker referenced the February 14 attack in northern Burkina Faso, where armed militants allegedly linked to Al-Qaeda intercepted a truck transporting 18 Ghanaian tomato traders.
“The attackers separated the men from the women before executing them and setting the vehicle ablaze with the driver still inside.
“These were not statistics. They were breadwinners, fathers and sons, the quiet engines of the regional supply chain that feeds our markets,” he said.
He also highlighted the April 25 terrorist incident in Mali, which resulted in the death of the country’s Defence Minister, Gen. Sadio Camara.
According to him, the attack effectively disrupted the Ghana–Mali trade corridor, with Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reportedly stating it could no longer guarantee the safety of travellers along the route.
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Afenyo-Markin criticised what he described as ECOWAS’ inability to fully enforce its 1979 Free Movement Protocol, noting that inconsistencies between national policies and regional commitments continue to expose citizens to harassment at borders.
“The daily reality of our citizens contradicts the promise at every turn,” he said.
He further drew attention to repeated xenophobic attacks in South Africa, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Town, and Pretoria, where citizens from Ghana, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and Ethiopia have reportedly been killed, displaced, and had their businesses looted.
While acknowledging recent remarks by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa condemning xenophobia during Freedom Day celebrations, he argued that stronger action was still required.
Words delivered from a ceremonial platform do not arrest a single perpetrator.
“The safety of our people must never be a matter open to devastation,” he said.
He urged the South African authorities to conduct swift, comprehensive, and transparent investigations, and to ensure prosecution of those responsible.
The lawmaker also called for formal correspondence to be sent to the South African Parliament and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights to demand appropriate action.