Niger’s military junta, on Friday threatened that ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, would be the first victim in the event of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) carrying out its threat of invading their country to flush them out.

The junta, who took over power on July 23, which was reacting to the outcome of the second meeting of the sub-regional group in Abuja on Thursday, ordering the Chiefs of Defence Staff committee to immediately, to activate the ECOWAS standby force to enter the country and restore Bazoum to power, said they would not hesitate to kill the ousted President, said to have been allowed to go home after signing his resignation.

President of ECOWAS, Omar Alieu Touray, gave the order while reading the resolution taken at the Extraordinary meeting on the Niger coup in Abuja on Thursday, to deliberate on the next step to be taken after the seven day ultimatum for the reinstatement of President Bazoum elapsed without compliance from the junta, said dialogue with the Niger junta, which had been rejected by coup leaders, would however continue.

Reports in the Daily Mail say, the junta, while reacting to the deployment of the ECOWAS standby forces in apparent preparation to invade Niger, said it would kill Bazoum if neighboring countries attempt any military intervention to restore his rule, quoting two Western officials as disclosing this to a top U.S. diplomat.

The Western military official, was also quoted as saying that representatives of the junta told U.S. Under Secretary of State, Victoria Nuland, of the threat to Bazoum during her visit to the country this week, while the Associated Press in its own report, said that a U.S. official confirmed the account, on condition of anonymity, because they were not authorised to speak to the media.

On Tuesday, the military junta appointed Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, Niger’s foremost economist and official of the African Development Bank, as the prime minister to head the government.