Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Radio France Internationale
Radio France Internationale
World
RFI

Niger's deposed president Bazoum is with family and doing well

Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum speaking during the inauguration of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals in Lagos, on 22 May 2023. © AFP - PIUS UTOMI EKPEI

A relative of the outsted Niger president Mohamed Bazoum said that while he is is still being held in the capital Niamey, he is with his family and in safety.

Citing a family source, French news agency AFP said Mohamed Bazoum's doctor was able to see him and bring him food.

"He is at the presidential residence with his wife and son and is doing well," the family member said, adding that he was allowed to make one phone call.

The military regime, which overthrew the democratically elected Bazoum on 26 July, said last Thursday that they had foiled Bazoum's attempt to escape custody.

The doctor had firstly been denied access on Friday, according to Bazoum's legal team.

The escape plan, according to the regime's spokesman, had involved Bazoum getting to a hideout on the outskirts of the capital Niamey before flying out on helicopters "belonging to a foreign power" towards Nigeria.

The regime added that "the main actors and some of the accomplices" were arrested.

But Bazoum and his family rejected the "fabricated accusations" and the lawyer's collective representing him said he was being "held incommunicado".

Unclear future

Since he was toppled by the military in July, Bazoum has refused to resign and has been held at his residence in the heart of the presidential palace along with his wife and son.

Last month, Bazoum's lawyers said he had filed a legal case with a court of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) against those who deposed him.

ECOWAS has warned from the day of the coup that it could intervene militarily in Niger if diplomatic efforts to return Bazoum to power failed, but seems to have preferred the status quo for now.

French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his concern over the uncertain situation Bazoum is in and called "for his immediate release and that of his wife and son", on Friday.

France is the former colonial power in the Sahel region, and was a strong ally to the deposed president, especially in the fight against jihadist groups attacking Niger.

Paris also agreed to the new regime's demands to withdraw its 1,500 troops by 31 December.

France also recently pulled out troops from Mali and Burkina Faso, which have also undergone coups in the past two years amid.

(with newswires)

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.