Niger junta charges ousted president, Bazoum with ‘high treason’

• The latest development is coming on the heels of the meeting between the junta and some Islamic clerics and scholars from Nigeria
• the prosecutorial move by the junta against Bazoum is an indication that the meeting may not be yielding the kind of result observers and stakeholders had envisaged

Niger coup leaders say they will prosecute ousted President Mohamed Bazoum for alleged treason and security risk in the West African country.

The regime made the disclosure in a statement by the its spokesperson Colonel-Major Amadou Abdramane.

According to the statement read by Abdramane on national television late Sunday, the ousted president would be prosecuted “for high treason and undermining the internal and external security of Niger.”

The junta spokesperson also said there was misinformation campaign against the putschists to “derail any negotiated solution to the crisis in order to justify military intervention in the name of Ecowas.”

The latest development is coming on the heels of the meeting between the junta and some Islamic clerics and scholars from Nigeria.

According to the leader of the Nigerian scholars, Sheik Bala Lau, the junta is willing to dialogue and negotiate with ECOWAS to resolve the political impasse in the landlocked West African nation.

However, the prosecutorial move by the junta against Bazoum is an indication that the meeting may not be yielding the kind of result observers and stakeholders had envisaged.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) imposed sanctions on Niger in response to the coup and has not ruled out using force against the army officers who toppled the democratically elected Bazoum on 26 July.

Last Thursday, the regional bloc approved the deployment of a “standby force to restore constitutional order” in Niger as soon as possible.

It, however, added that it remains committed to finding a diplomatic solution to the crisis.

Bazoum, his wife, and adult son have been held at the president’s official Niamey residence since the coup, with international concern mounting over their conditions in detention.