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Junta Says Niger’s Ousted President Tried to Escape. His Lawyer Says, No Way. Junta Says Niger’s Ousted President Tried to Escape. His Lawyer Says, No Way.
(1 day later)
The military junta in the West African country of Niger claimed that it had disrupted an attempt by the ousted president, Mohamed Bazoum, to escape on Thursday from the presidential residence, where he has been detained since he was overthrown in a coup nearly three months ago.The military junta in the West African country of Niger claimed that it had disrupted an attempt by the ousted president, Mohamed Bazoum, to escape on Thursday from the presidential residence, where he has been detained since he was overthrown in a coup nearly three months ago.
His lawyers denied the assertion, said that they had lost contact with him, and called once again for his immediate release.His lawyers denied the assertion, said that they had lost contact with him, and called once again for his immediate release.
Since mutinous soldiers in Niger seized power in a coup in late July, Mr. Bazoum had been stranded with his wife and son in the presidential residence in Niger’s capital, Niamey. While Mr. Bazoum had been able to communicate with his lawyers, they said that since Wednesday night they had received no news of his whereabouts or condition.Since mutinous soldiers in Niger seized power in a coup in late July, Mr. Bazoum had been stranded with his wife and son in the presidential residence in Niger’s capital, Niamey. While Mr. Bazoum had been able to communicate with his lawyers, they said that since Wednesday night they had received no news of his whereabouts or condition.
“It’s a total blackout,” Mohamed Seydou Diagne, one of Mr. Bazoum’s lawyers, said in a telephone interview on Friday. “We have reasons to worry, even more so when we know that he is in the hands of the military.”“It’s a total blackout,” Mohamed Seydou Diagne, one of Mr. Bazoum’s lawyers, said in a telephone interview on Friday. “We have reasons to worry, even more so when we know that he is in the hands of the military.”
A spokesman for the Nigerien military leaders did not respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Bazoum, who became president in 2021, was considered a close ally of France and the United States, which both maintained military bases there. Niger, a poor, landlocked country of 25 million, has been battling Islamist insurgents affiliated with Al Qaeda and the Islamic State.
Niger’s military junta said in a statement that Mr. Bazoum had tried to escape at 3 a.m. on Thursday with his family, two security personnel and two cooks. An unmarked vehicle waiting nearby was supposed to take them to the outskirts of Niamey, the junta said, before “two helicopters belonging to a foreign power” would have flown them to neighboring Nigeria.