It may be of interest to note that the legal instrument available to ECOWAS at the time were the Protocol on Non-Aggression and the Protocol on Mutual Assistance in Defence Matters, which were both strongly anchored in the prevailing view that there should be no interference in the internal affairs of member States.
Il convient de noter que les instruments juridiques dont disposait la CEDEAO à l'époque étaient le Protocole de non-agression et le Protocole d'assistance mutuelle en matière de défense, qui reposaient solidement sur le principe de non-ingérence dans les affaires intérieures des États membres prévalant alors.