Wife, son of ousted Niger's president Bazoum regains freedom

On Tuesday, the wife and son of Mohammed Bazoum, the deposed president of the Niger Republic, were released from house arrest.

Since the coup that overthrew President Bazoum on July 26, 2023, they have been under house arrest.

Nigeria's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, reportedly expressed appreciation for the news in a statement on Tuesday, emphasising that it was a reasonable move to restore normalcy to the troubled nation.

General Abdourahamane Tchiani led the military coup that overthrew the democratically elected government of Niger and placed the ousted president and members of his family under house arrest, accusing them of being incompetent.

A logical step towards restoring normalcy to the nation and the region as a whole, according to Tuggar, the Chairperson of the ECOWAS Mediation and Security Council.

In an effort to advance further talks on lifting sanctions and to start the transition to constitutional rule in the best interests of the people, peace, and stability of Niger and the surrounding region, he once again urged the Tchiani-led government to expedite Mohammed Bazoum's release from detention and permit him to travel to a third nation.

The coup in Niger caused an unprecedented global outcry, to the point where the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), led by President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria, imposed a number of sanctions on the regime in Niamey.

The West African MPs in the ECOWAS Parliament, among other groups, fiercely opposed the ECOWAS threat to use force to restore democratic order in Niger.

Source