The fate of ousted Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum looks bleaker than ever. The perpetrators of the coup d’etat in Niger announced, on Sunday evening August 13, their intention to prosecute him in particular for “high treason”.
“The Nigerien government has to date gathered” the “evidence to prosecute before the competent national and international authorities the ousted president and his local and foreign accomplices, for high treason and undermining the internal and external security of Niger”, declared the colonel major Amadou Abdramane, one of the members of the regime, in a press release read on national television.
The government bases its accusations on Mr. Bazoum’s “exchanges” with “nationals”, “foreign heads of state”, and “officials of international organizations”.
Regular visit by the President’s doctor
Regarding the deposed president, the regime called for “questioning the sincerity of his claim to maintain that he is kidnapped, even though the soldiers have never taken over his presidential residence and he still has all the communication means “.
The soldiers assure that Mr. Bazoum “regularly receives visits from his doctor”. “After this visit, the doctor did not raise any concerns about the state of health of the deposed president and his family members,” they added. According to an adviser to the overthrown president, a consultation took place on Saturday.
Mr. Bazoum, held in his presidential residence since the day of the coup with his son and his wife, had declared in several media to be a “hostage”, then deprived of electricity and forced to eat only rice and vegetables. pasta.
In addition, the military regime denounced “the illegal, inhuman and humiliating sanctions of ECOWAS [Economic Community of West African States]”, taken during a summit of the organization on July 30. West African states have announced, among other things, the suspension of financial and commercial transactions with Niger.
These sanctions “go so far as to deprive the country of pharmaceutical products, foodstuffs” and “supply of electric current”, the military deplored in their press release. They indicate that “all urgent measures are being taken to minimize the impact of the sanctions”.
Consulting the people close to the deposed regime arrested since the coup, the soldiers add that they “reaffirm their firm will to respect (…) Niger’s commitments in terms of human rights”.
Coup justified by ‘imminent threat’
On July 30, four days after the overthrow of the regime, ECOWAS leaders decided to financially sanction Niger and set a seven-day ultimatum for the military to restore constitutional order, threatening a possible recourse to the strength as a last resort.
On Thursday, at a new summit, the leaders reaffirmed that they favor the diplomatic route to restore President Mohamed Bazoum to office, while ordering the mobilization and deployment of the ECOWAS “standby force”.
According to General Abdourahamane Tiani, in power after the July 26 coup, quoted in the communiqué of a delegation of Nigerian clerics visiting Niamey this weekend, the military overthrew President Bazoum “due to an imminent threat which would have affected not only the Republic of Niger, but also Nigeria”.
Two days after the coup, General Tiani had justified the action of the army by “the security deterioration” in the country undermined by the violence of jihadist groups.
According to the religious delegation, the junta said it was open to a diplomatic resolution of the crisis. General Tiani “declared that his door was open to explore the path of diplomacy and peace in order to resolve” the crisis, said in a press release Sheikh Bala Lau at the head of this mediation mission, carried out with the agreement of the President of Nigeria Bola Tinubu, also current President of ECOWAS.
The religious mediation announced that it would meet President Bola Tinubu to report to him on the content of their discussion, but the press release was published before the announcement of the military in power to prosecute the deposed President Bazoum.
A government appointed by the military
According to the text, General Tiani, during their meeting, “(…) apologized for not having given the necessary attention to the team sent by President Tinubu and led by the former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar”. On August 3, an ECOWAS delegation led by General Abubakar landed in Niamey, but left after only a few hours without being able to meet the country’s new strongman, General Tiani.
Last Tuesday, another delegation, this time made up of envoys from ECOWAS, the African Union and the United Nations, was unable to travel to Niamey, the regime citing security reasons. According to the statement from the religious mediation, General Tiani said it was “painful” for the perpetrators of the coup that the leaders of ECOWAS “did not hear their version of the facts before issuing them an ultimatum”.
The military regime appointed its first government this week. This team is led by Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine and includes twenty ministers; those of defense and the interior being generals of the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Fatherland (CNSP), which took power.