Nigerian President Mohamed Bazoum, who was overthrown in a coup at the end of July and accused by the military of attempting to escape, is in Niamey with his wife and son and is doing well, we learned on Sunday 22. October, Agence France-Presse (AFP) learned with his entourage.
“He’s at the president’s residence [de Niamey] “I am with his wife and son and he is fine,” one of his relatives told AFP, adding that he could only make one call to say he was fine with his family. She added that her doctor was able to visit her and “bring her some food.”
On Thursday evening, the military regime in Niamey claimed that Mohamed Bazoum “tried to escape” with his family and other people by borrowing “helicopters from a foreign power” from the outskirts of Niamey en route to Nigeria. The regime stated that this attempt had failed and that “the main perpetrators and some of their accomplices” had been arrested.
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Emmanuel Macron expressed “his deep concern”.
These “fabricated” allegations were “vigorously” rejected on Friday by a group of Mr Bazoum’s lawyers, claiming he was being held “incommunicado”, raising concerns about his fate.
French President Emmanuel Macron expressed “his deep concern about the insecure situation” of Mr. Bazoum and called for “his immediate release and that of his wife and son.”
Since the coup that overthrew him on July 26, Mr. Bazoum has been sequestered and has refused to tender his resignation. On September 18, he took legal action in West Africa to demand his release and the restoration of constitutional order in Niger.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which had considered military intervention immediately after the coup to reinstate Mr. Bazoum in his roles, finally gave up.
As a former colonial power and a privileged ally of the ousted president’s regime in the fight against the jihadist groups attacking Niger, France was forced two months after the coup to announce the withdrawal of its 1,400 soldiers from Niger by the end of the year.
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Previously, French soldiers had to withdraw from neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso, which were also led by coup plotters and plagued by jihadist violence.
Also read: Article reserved for our subscribers. Driven out of Niger, French soldiers temporarily retreat to Chad, Paris’s last ally in the Sahel