The Peace and Security Council of the African Union has announced that it will hold a meeting in Addis Ababa on Monday to discuss “the evolution of the situation in Niger and efforts to remedy it,” according to a communiqué.
The meeting comes as the military junta (CNSP) announced its intention to “prosecute” ousted President Mohamed Bazoum for “high treason” and “undermining the security” of the country.
The Nigerien government has so far gathered “the evidence to prosecute the deposed president and his local and foreign accomplices before the competent national and international bodies for high treason and undermining the internal and external security of Niger,” said Colonel Major Amadou Abdramane, a member of the regime, in a statement broadcast on national television.
The government bases its accusations on Mr. Bazoum’s “exchanges” with “nationals,” “foreign heads of state,” and “officials of international organizations.
The African Union (AU) “strongly” condemned the “coup attempt” in Niger after President Mohamed Bazoum was detained by members of the presidential guard, and also called for the “immediate and unconditional return of the offending soldiers to their barracks”.
Regarding the deposed president, the military junta called for “questions to be asked about the sincerity of his claim that he is in isolation when the military has never occupied his presidential residence and he still has all means of communication at his disposal. The military claims that Mr. Bazoum “receives regular visits from his doctor.
“After this visit, the doctor did not raise any problems regarding the health of the deposed president and members of his family,” they added.
The military regime also denounced “the illegal, inhumane and humiliating sanctions imposed by ECOWAS. Among other things, the West African states announced the suspension of financial and commercial transactions with Niger.
On July 26, 2023, Niger experienced a violent change of government. The regime of President Mohamed Bazoum was overthrown by the Nigerien military, united in the (CNSP), led by General Abdourahamane Tchiani.
On August 10, 2023, at the end of an extraordinary summit in Abuja, the heads of state of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) ordered the activation of the organization’s standby force to restore constitutional order. This follows the economic and financial sanctions imposed on the country.
HA/lb/as/APA