Photos emerged on Wednesday of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, with Abdourahmane Tchiani, the leader of the Niger junta.

Sanusi, the 14th Emir of Kano and Khalifa of the Tijaniyya Islamic sect in Nigeria, met Tchiani in company with Aboubacar Sanda Oumarou, the Emir of Damagaram, Niger Republic’s third largest city.

Sanusi meets Tichani

The meeting came after the military leadership of the junta gave short shrift to the previous ones with representatives of the African Union, the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) and a top US diplomat. The putschists had refused to dialogue with Abdulsalam Abubakar, Nigeria’s former head of state, and Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto. They had also refused to yield to Victoria Nuland, the acting US deputy secretary of state.