Niger’s military leaders announced that they had thwarted an escape attempt by Mohamed Bazoum, the former president they removed from power in a coup in July.
“At around three in the morning, the ousted president Mohamed Bazoum and his family, his two cooks and two security elements, tried to escape from his place of detention,” the regime’s spokesman Amadou Abdramane said on state television.
The escape attempt proved unsuccessful, and “the main actors and some of the accomplices” were apprehended, as disclosed in the late Thursday broadcast.
The escape plan initially entailed Bazoum reaching a hideout located on the outskirts of the capital Niamey, as stated by Abdramane.
Following this, their scheme involved departing via helicopters “belonging to a foreign power” towards Nigeria, he added, condemning Bazoum’s “reckless behavior.”
Since his removal by the military on July 26, Bazoum has steadfastly declined to resign. Until this point, he has been confined to his residence within the presidential palace, where he resides with his wife, Haziza, and their son, Salem.
Abdramane did not say where they were now being held.
In September, Bazoum’s attorney disclosed that he had submitted a legal case to the Economic Community of West African States court against those responsible for his ousting.
They also said they were taking his case to the UN Human Rights Council.
The military officers who removed Bazoum from power justified their actions by pointing to the deteriorating security conditions in the nation due to jihadist attacks.
Niger is contending with two jihadist uprisings: one emanating from a protracted conflict in neighboring Nigeria, affecting its southeast; and another offensive in the west, as militants cross over from Mali and Burkina Faso.
Earlier this month, Niger observed three days of national mourning following the suspected jihadist attack in which 29 soldiers lost their lives, marking the deadliest incident since the military assumed control in July.
