The Junta that took power in Niger in a July 26 coup declared late Sunday that former President Mohamed Bazoum might face grave treason charges.
The coup leaders imprisoned Bazoum and dissolved the elected government, which drew outrage from West African nations, which established a standby military force that may intervene to restore Bazoum.
Colonel Amadou Abdramane, a Junta spokeswoman, announced on state television that the junta has “assembled the necessary elements to prosecute the ousted president… for high treason and undermining the internal and external security of Niger.”
On Monday, ECOWAS is set to press for fresh negotiations with the Junta, which has indicated a readiness to find a diplomatic solution to the coup deadlock.
The bloc’s parliament said on Saturday that it will send a team to meet with the junta in Niamey. This mission’s intended timeline was not readily evident.
The African Union’s Peace and Security Council is also due to convene on Monday to address the situation in Niger, indicating the amount of worry about the potential impact of West and Central Africa’s eighth coup in three years.
The destiny of Niger, a key uranium producer and Western ally in the war against an Islamist insurgency, is at risk, as is the influence of rival global powers with strategic interests in the area.
