Family members of ousted Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum said on Thursday (November 30th) that they had not heard from him since October 18th and denounced "abusive arrests and searches" targeting some of them. "Since October 18, we have had no news of President Bazoum, his wife Khadija Mabrouk and their son Salem, who were taken hostage by the presidential guard," said a statement from the Bazoum family seen by AFP.
Since he was overthrown in a military coup on 26 July, Mohamed Bazoum has been held captive in his presidential residence with his wife and son. The statement further states that "several members of our family are being subjected to unreasonable arrests and searches by the military authorities." "We have seen a certain fixation on President Bazoum's family and a certain violation of all the rules of procedure when it comes to prosecuting its members," Ould Salem Said, the family's lawyer, told a news conference.
"Abduction, unlawful confinement and arbitrary detention"
According to the lawyer, the homes of a niece of Mohamed Bazoum and that of another relative were searched on Tuesday in Niamey. On Sunday, "unidentified armed elements kidnapped Ali Bey Mahjoub," a banking executive and uncle of Mohamed Bazoum, he said. In this case, he announced that he had already filed "a complaint" with the prosecutor's office for "kidnapping, kidnapping and arbitrary detention".
On 9 November, Ali Mabrouk, a traditional chief and brother of Mohamed Bazoum's wife, "was arrested" by members of the gendarmerie in Zinder (south) and "placed in custody", according to the lawyer, who was worried that those arrested "will be brought before the military court". Niger has been ruled since July 26 by a military regime led by General Abdourahamane Tiani.
In the aftermath of the coup, several dignitaries of the former regime, including ministers and members of parliament, were incarcerated in various prisons across the country. A few days later, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) threatened to intervene militarily to restore President Bazoum to his post - which it did not do - and imposed heavy economic and financial sanctions against Niger.