“The Economic Community of West African States (
ECOWAS
) must demand the release of the President of the Republic of Niger
Mohamed Bazoum
and his wife Hadiza
,” declared the collective of lawyers of the president of Niger, sequestered in his presidential residence in Niamey with his wife since the coup d'état of July 26.
This statement comes on the eve of a meeting of ECOWAS heads of state which is due to take place on Saturday February 24 in Abuja, Nigeria.
“It is the responsibility of ECOWAS and its member states to ensure that court decisions are effectively applied and that President Bazoum and his wife are released
,” insisted Mohamed Seydou Diagne, coordinator of the collective, in the press release. .
“Not only is the freedom of a democratically elected head of state at stake, but also the credibility of the institutions of ECOWAS itself
,” he added.
"No information"
On December 15, the ECOWAS Court of Justice ordered the immediate release of Mohamed Bazoum.
Since then,
“no information has been provided either by the Niger authorities or by ECOWAS on the execution of the decision
,” the lawyers deplore.
If on January 28, Niger, as well as Burkina Faso and Mali, announced that they wanted to withdraw from ECOWAS, the countries are nevertheless required,
“under article 91 of the Revised ECOWAS Treaty”
, to
“ fulfill the obligations incumbent upon them for a period of one year
,” recall the president’s lawyers.
Mohamed Bazoum and his wife have been
“cut out of fashion”
since October 19, lawyers insist.
Their son, Salem Bazoum, was released on
“provisional release”
on January 8, before being transferred to Togo.
In the wake of the coup d'état, ECOWAS first threatened the putschists with military intervention in order to restore the deposed president, before giving up this option.
In mid-September, Mohamed Bazoum applied to the ECOWAS Court of Justice to request his release.
“Heads of state cannot forget the suffering endured by President Bazoum and his wife
,” concluded Reed Brody, one of the members of the collective of lawyers, in the press release.
“Any resolution of the situation in Niger must take into account the fundamental rights of its democratically elected president
. ”