Mutinous soldiers in Niger announced on Monday that they will try ousted President Mohamed Bazoum for “high treason” for his exchanges with foreign heads of state and international organizations, and undermining state security, hours after saying they were open to dialogue. with West African countries to resolve the growing regional crisis.
If convicted, Bazoum could face the death penalty, according to the Nigerian penal code.
In his announcement late Sunday on state television, spokesman and Major General Amadou Abdramane said the military regime has “gathered the necessary evidence to prosecute before competent domestic and national authorities the deposed president and his local and foreign accomplices for high treason and for undermining the internal and external security of Niger”.
According to the announcement, high-level West African politicians and “their international mentors” have made false claims and threatened to derail a peaceful solution to the crisis in order to justify military intervention. The board indicated that Bazoum was indicted after his conversations with those people. The statement did not identify specific Western countries or set a date for the trial.
Bazoum, the country’s democratically elected president, was overthrown by members of his presidential guard on July 26 and has since been under house arrest with his wife and son at the presidential compound in the capital, Niamey.
People close to the president and his ruling party say their electricity and running water have been cut off and they are running out of food. The junta rejected those reports on Sunday and accused West African politicians and international partners of fueling a disinformation campaign to discredit the junta.
International pressure is mounting on the coup plotters to release and reinstate Bazoum. Immediately after the coup, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) gave the mutineers seven days to restore it to power under threat of military force, although that period passed without action on either side.
ECOWAS last week ordered the deployment of a “standby” force, although it was not yet clear when, if at all, it would enter the country. The African Union Peace and Security Council was meeting on Monday to address the crisis and could reverse the regional body’s decision if it believes that an intervention threatens the peace and security of the continent as a whole.
As time passed, uncertainty grew amid mixed messages about the negotiations with the junta.
On Sunday night, before the military charged Bazoum with treason, a member of the junta’s communication team told the press that the regime had authorized talks with ECOWAS in the coming days. Earlier that day, a mediation team of Islamic scholars from neighboring Nigeria who had met with the junta over the weekend said the regime was open to negotiations with ECOWAS.
Previous attempts by the regional organization to speak to the junta had failed, and its delegations had not received permission to enter the country.
In the weeks since the coup, the military rebels have entrenched themselves in power, appointed a new government and stoked anti-French sentiment against their former colonial power to rally support among the population. That has created a tense environment for those who oppose the junta, as well as for many journalists and foreigners.
Jihadist violence has also increased. Niger was seen by Western nations as the only last democratic country in the Sahel region with which they could collaborate to combat jihadist violence associated with al Qaeda and the Islamic State group. France, the United States and other European countries have spent hundreds of millions of dollars to bolster the Nigerian military. Since the coup, France and the United States have suspended their military operations in the country.
