1 of 2 | The government-usurping National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland said it has gathered enough evidence to prosecute President of Niger Mohamed Bazoum (pictured here on a visit to Washington D.C. in December 2022) on crimes of treason. File Photo by Jemal Countess/UPI |
License Photo
Aug. 14 (UPI) -- Niger's military junta said it has enough evidence to prosecute Mohamed Bazoum, the West African nation's deposed president, on crimes of "high treason" and undermining the country's national and international security.
"The Nigerien government has to date gathered the necessary evidence to prosecute the deposed president and his local and foreign accomplices before the competent national and international authorities for high treason and undermining internal and external security of Niger following its exchanges with nationals, foreign heads of state and heads of international organizations," the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Homeland said Sunday.
No evidence was detailed in the two-page press release that also denounces foreign and domestic efforts to criticize its July 26 coup, while stating it is implementing measures to mitigate the impact of "illegal" sanctions imposed on the country by West African nations following its arrest of Bazoum.
The CNSP seized control of the country in a coup that removed Niger's democratically elected government and arrested Bazoum, his family and other members of the government late last month.
The coup has been denounced by democratic allies, including the United States, and the Economic Community of West African States, of which Niger is one of 15 members, immediately imposed sanctions against Niamey over the action.
Late last week after the CNSP failed to heed an ECOWAS ultimatum to reinstate Niger's democratic government, ECOWAS ordered the deployment of its standby military force to restore constitutional order in the West African nation -- but has yet to act.
In its statement Sunday, the CNSP said with regard to Bazoum and those it has detained, it reaffirms its "desire to respect our laws and regulations as well as Niger's commitments in the field of human rights and in doing so to treat them with humanism in accordance with our traditional and religious values."
It added that the 63-year-old Bazoum, whose health in detention has raised concerns among his allies, receives regular visits from his doctor, most recently on Saturday.
"After this visit, the doctor did not raise any problem as to the state of health of the deposed president and the members of his family," it said.
Located in the turbulent Sahel, Niger, a country of some 25.4 million people, was one of the West's few democratic allies in the region, which has seen a handful of military coups in the last few years.
Sunday's announcement is expected to attract further concern and criticism from the United States and other countries, including France, Niger's former colonial ruler.
More than 1,000 U.S. soldiers are stationed in Niger, making it home to the second-largest U.S. military presence in the continent. It has also been a top recipient of U.S. security assistance in Africa and a U.S. development aid recipient, according to a late July report from the U.S. Congressional Research Service.
Following the coup, the United States announced that it was suspending some aid to the country.
Inaugurated in 2021, Bazoum's presidency was Niger's first-ever transition between one president and another.
There have been at least six military coups in Africa since 2020, including Niger and neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso.
