Niger President Bazoum detained by soldiers as ECOWAS condemns coup

Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum was held inside his palace in the capital Niamey by his guards on Wednesday in an apparent coup d’état, prompting a furious response from the regional body ECOWAS.

Witnesses say the “mutinous” soldiers used military vehicles to bar access to the presidential palace Wednesday morning with the president detained inside the building. Government offices next to the palace were also blocked off.

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Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu, who is also the chairperson of the regional main economic bloc ECOWAS, has condemned the coup attempt and called on the plotters to release Mr Bazoum immediately.

A statement by Mr Tinubu said the leadership of the ECOWAS region will not “tolerate” any situation that incapacitates the democratically-elected government of Niger.

“The ECOWAS leadership will not accept any action that impedes the smooth functioning of legitimate authority in Niger or any part of West Africa,” Mr Tinubu said.

“I wish to say that we are closely monitoring the situation and developments in Niger and we will do everything within our powers to ensure democracy is firmly planted, nurtured, well rooted and thrives in our region.”

The president noted that he was in close consultation with other leaders in the region, and vowed to protect “our hard-earned democracy in line with the universally acceptable principle of constitutionalism.”

President Tinubu says he is in contact with other leaders in the region and will remain in support of Bazoum’s government. “As the chairperson of ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, I state without equivocation that Nigeria stands firmly with the elected government in Niger and equally conveys the absolute resolve of leaders in our sub-region that we shall not waiver or flinch on our stand to defend and preserve constitutional order,” he said.

The African Union also called on the “treasonous” soldiers involved to stop immediately.

In its response, Mr Bazoum’s government in a later deleted statement said the guards had started an “anti-republican” movement “in vain” and that the President was well.

The rest of Niamey appeared calm, with normal traffic on the road and full internet access, Reuters reported.

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If this goes through, it will be the region’s sixth coup since 2020. In 2021, the military also seized power in Guinea. Two other coups each have been recorded in Mali and Burkina Faso since 2020.

Mr Bazoum’s election was the first democratic transition of power in a state that has witnessed four military coups since independence from France in 1960.

This will be the second coup attempt in the country in two years. In March 2021, an attempted coup by a military unit was thwarted days before Mr Bazoum was sworn into office.