Admin I Monday, August 14, 2023
NIAMEY – The military junta in Niger led by General Abdourahamane Tchiani has vowed to prosecute ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.
In a statement read on national television by Colonel-Major Amadou Abdramane, the junta said it will prosecute Bazoum for high treason but did not state the nature of offence the former president committed.
He stressed that the sanctions imposed on Niger by the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, was making things unbearable for residents.
Abdramane spoke just hours after religious mediators met with General Abdourahamane Tchiani, who indicated his regime was open to a diplomatic discussion.
Tchiani “said their doors were open to explore diplomacy and peace in resolving the matter”, said Sheikh Bala Lau, a day after his Nigerian Muslim delegation held talks in the capital Niamey.
Tchiani “claimed the coup was well intended” and that the plotters “struck to stave off an imminent threat that would have affected” Sheikh Bala Lau said.
Bazoum, 63, and his family have been held at the president’s official Niamey residence since the coup, with international concern mounting over his continued detention.
A member of Sheikh Bala Lau’s entourage said the ousted leader saw his doctor on Saturday.
“After this visit, the doctor raised no problems regarding the state of health of the deposed president and members of his family,” the military said.
