NIGER : SALEM MOHAMED BAZOUM RELEASED ON DECISION OF NIAMEY MILITARY COURT
Salem Mohamed Bazoum, son of former Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum, has been granted provisional release. Detained in the presidential residence for 5 months along with his father Mohamed Bazoum and the former first lady Haziza, the 22-year-old student was released on Monday, January 8.
Salem Bazoum is accused of « conspiracy to undermine the authority or security of the State ». His release was ordered by a military court in Niamey, while the ousted president and his wife are still under the surveillance of their former presidential guard.
The release of Mohamed Bazoum’s son is the result of mediation conducted jointly by Togolese President Faure Gnassingbé and his Sierra Leonean counterpart, Julius Maada Bio, with the new Nigerien authorities.
The two Heads of State, designated as mediators by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in the Niger crisis, have recently made several interventions with General Tiani, the country’s new strongman.
« We take this opportunity to thank His Excellency Brigadier General Abdourahamane TIANI, members of the National Council for the Safeguard of the Nation (CNSP), and His Excellency Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine for their firm will and commitment to work for appeasement, the foundation of lasting peace and effective resumption of development in the brotherly country of Niger ». stated Prof Robert Dussey, Togolese Minister of Foreign Affairs, in a publication.
According to several reliable sources, Salem Mohamed Bazoum is currently in Lomé. He left Niamey on Monday, accompanied by Togolese Foreign Minister Prof Robert Dussey, who traveled to the Sahelian country and held discussions with Niger’s Prime Minister, Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine.
