In a statement made hours after the junta indicated it was willing to hold talks with West African countries to ease the escalating regional crisis, the mutinous soldiers of Niger declared they would prosecute ousted President Mohamed Bazoum for “high treason” and compromising national security.
According to Niger’s penal law, Bazoum might get the death penalty if found guilty.
Spokesman Col. Maj. Amadou Abdramane said on state television Sunday night that the military regime had “gathered the necessary evidence to prosecute before competent national and international authorities the ousted president and his local and foreign accomplices for high treason and for undermining the internal and external security of Niger.”
According to the declaration, powerful leaders from West Africa and “their international mentors” have fabricated evidence and attempted to thwart a diplomatic resolution of the problem in order to support military action.
According to the report, Bazoum was charged after his interactions with these individuals. Both a date for the trial and specific Western nations were not mentioned in the announcement.
