Niger/Bazoum Case : The ECOWAS Court of Justice Issues Its Controversial Verdict
While the Conference of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) officially recognizes the coup d’état in Niger, demanding the immediate and unconditional release of Bazoum and a short transition period, the ECOWAS Court of Justice has called for the immediate reinstatement of the ousted president to his functions.
The verdict was made public on December 15, following a trial held on November 6 at the headquarters of the ECOWAS Court of Justice in Abuja, Nigeria. According to the deliberation in the case involving Mohamed Bazoum and his associates against the Nigerien state, the former president, overthrown in the coup d’état nearly five months ago, must be released immediately and unconditionally and reinstated to his position as the President of the Republic of Niger.
The ECOWAS Court of Justice accuses the current Nigerien state of violating the rights of the former president and his associates, including the rights to freedom of movement, not to be arbitrarily arrested, and the political rights of Mr. Mohamed Bazoum.
This decision from the community justice contradicts that of the organization’s heads of state and is made despite the arguments put forward by the defense (lawyers of the Nigerien state) and despite the reasons for the detention of the former president outlined this week by the president of the CNSP, the head of the transition.
As a reminder, the transitional president, General Brigadier Abdourahame TIANI, had stated that the release of the ousted president posed a serious threat to national security, and the CNSP does not intend to take this risk until proven otherwise.
