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The West African bloc ECOWAS condemned Niger’s military rulers on Monday for threatening to prosecute former president Mohamed Bazoum, saying this contradicted the regime’s stated willingness to resolve the problem amicably.
The coup leaders who deposed Bazoum declared late Sunday that they had acquired enough evidence to charge him with “high treason and undermining Niger’s internal and external security.”
This, it said, was based on “contacts” Bazoum had had with “nationals… foreign heads of state… (and) officials in international organisations.”
In a statement on Monday, ECOWAS said it had learned of the threats “with stupefaction”.
“It represents yet another form of provocation and contradicts the reported willingness of the military authorities in the Republic of Niger to restore constitutional order through peaceful means,” the bloc said.
Bazoum, 63, and his family have been held at the president’s official residence since the coup, with international concern mounting over his conditions in detention.
