Nigeria, Feb. 22 -- A former Nigerian Head of State, Yakubu Gowon, has asked ECOWAS to lift sanctions imposed on Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso.

He said "all West African leaders" should "immediately consider the lifting of all sanctions that have been imposed on Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali and Niger."

Mr Gowon, who was one of the founders of ECOWAS as Nigeria's military head of state in May 1975, expressed his concerns about recent developments in the regional body in an open letter addressed to Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS Member States.

The letter dated 13 February was seen by PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday.

Following recent coups in West Africa, ECOWAS imposed economic sanctions on countries that had been taken over by the mil...