6 Months After, Niger Junta Frees Ousted President’s Wife, Son
POLITICS DIGEST – Salem Bazoum, son of Niger’s ousted President, Mohamed Bazoum, has been released, the country’s military tribunal announced.
The 22-year-old was arrested and detained alongside his parents by putschists who overthrew his father in a coup last July.
According to Aljazeera, the younger Bazoum was released provisionally by the tribunal. It did not say anything about the fate of the president.
Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, commending the release said “It is a logical step in bringing normalcy back to the country and the region in general.”
Tuggar, also the Chairperson of the ECOWAS Mediation and Security Council, revealed that Khadija Bazoum, wife of the president, was also released. He offered no details about their whereabouts.
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He reiterated the call to the government led by General Abdourahamane Tchiani to hasten the release of President Bazoum from its custody and allow him to fly to a third country as a step towards further talks on lifting sanctions and to initiate the transition to constitutional rule in the interest of the people, peace and stability of Niger and the region.
A source close to the removed president told the AFP news agency that Salem Bazoum had left Niamey for Lome, the capital of Togo, where he arrived on Monday evening.
Aljazeera reported that a statement by the Togolese government confirmed a deal for the younger Bazoum’s release after mediation from Togo and Sierra Leone, but gave no details about his whereabouts.
On Monday, Togo’s Foreign Minister Robert Dussey was in Niamey, where he met with Niger’s military-appointed prime minister, according to Nigerien public television.
President Bazoum remains in detention where he has been since the coup in July 2023.
After the coup, ECOWAS imposed strict sanctions on Niger in a bid to get the putschists to reinstate the ousted president but they have remained resolute.
