Niger’s military authorities have launched a widening campaign of arrests following an alleged attempt to overthrow the government, detaining soldiers, politicians and a former defence minister as concern grows over enforced disappearances and political repression.
The arrests have spread beyond the capital, Niamey, to several other cities, deepening tensions in a country already shaken by the detention and prosecution of government critics.
Thousands of people meanwhile joined a rally in Niamey in support of junta leader General Abdourahamane Tiani. Demonstrators chanted slogans backing the “transitional president,” wore shirts bearing his image and, in some cases, waved Russian flags.
“This was not simply a mutiny. It was an attempt to prevent Niger from continuing on its path towards sovereignty,” armed forces chief General Ibrahim Amadou told the crowd.
Authorities announced on August 29 that several people suspected of involvement in the alleged coup attempt had been arrested. State television broadcast images of some of the detainees without identifying them or saying where they were being held.
The crackdown has since expanded to include both military personnel and civilians.
French magazine Jeune Afrique reported that more than a dozen soldiers from the army’s First Parachute Battalion were detained in Niamey after the presidential guard and personnel from Russia’s Africa Corps retook Base 101.
A source close to the security services told the magazine that serious doubts had emerged about the unit’s loyalty during the unrest.
Several members of special forces units stationed in the western Tillabéri region have also reportedly been arrested at their barracks. Suspects are undergoing intensive questioning by officers from Niger’s external intelligence and security directorate, according to the same source.
Among those detained is former defence minister Kalla Moutari, who was taken from his home in Maradi, near the Nigerian border, to an undisclosed location.
Moutari is a veteran member of the Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism and an influential figure in the Maradi and Zinder regions. He served in several governments, including as defence minister under former president Mahamadou Issoufou between 2016 and 2019.
Known for his close ties to deposed president Mohamed Bazoum, Moutari was previously arrested after the July 2023 military takeover. He was released in April 2025 after spending more than 20 months in detention.
Another prominent detainee is Kalla Ankourao, a former deputy speaker of the National Assembly. A source close to the former lawmaker said armed men entered his home in Niamey and took him to an unknown location.
The fate of journalist Moussa Kaka, director of Sarounia Radio and Television and a former correspondent for Radio France Internationale, has also raised alarm. He has been missing since August 31.
Reporters Without Borders said Kaka left his office in Niamey at around 7 p.m. to return home but never arrived. The organisation called on Nigerien authorities to launch an immediate investigation and disclose any information about his disappearance.
“At this stage, we have no information about the circumstances, context or current whereabouts of Moussa Kaka,” the organisation’s editorial director, Anne Bocandé, told RFI. “Given Niger’s unstable political situation in recent days, this is an additional source of concern.”
