The three states notified ECOWAS that they would withdraw their membership within one year, which is the stipulated timeline for any country wishing to quit the bloc to make its intention known. The Sahel states had hitherto been hit by violent extremism and terrorism orchestrated by marauding Islamist jihadists emanating mostly from their initial hotbed in North Africa and the Middle-East. Notably, this was one of the reasons that the rebelling military rulers gave for seizing power earlier in the their countries. They accused ECOWAS leaders of being too aligned with Western powers, especially France, at the detriment of their own countries. The trio said their decision to exit the bloc was also in protest against ECOWAS’ hardline position over the coups in their countries, the imposition of sanctions, as well as the threat of military invasion.