Niger’s military government announced Tuesday the release of approximately 50 detainees, including former ministers from the ousted administration of President Mohamed Bazoum. The move follows recommendations from a February national dialogue conference that extended military rule for five years.
Among those freed are prominent figures from Bazoum’s government: former oil minister Mahamane Sani Issoufou (son of ex-president Mahamadou Issoufou), ex-defense minister Kalla Moutari, former finance minister Ahmat Jidoud, and former energy minister Ibrahim Yacoubou. Other released detainees include PNDS party president Foumakoye Gado, journalist Ousmane Toudou, and former ambassador to Nigeria Alat Mogaskia.
The government statement read on national television said the releases aligned with “the recommendations of the National Forum for Reconstruction.” All had been detained since the July 2023 coup led by General Abdourahamane Tiani on charges of threatening state security.
Notably absent from the amnesty is deposed president Bazoum, who remains imprisoned despite international demands for his freedom. The junta has lifted Bazoum’s presidential immunity but not set a trial date.
The releases also included military personnel convicted of prior coup attempts, such as General Salou Souleymane and three officers sentenced in 2018 for a 2015 plot against then-president Issoufou.
Junta leader Tiani, inaugurated last week for a five-year transitional period, framed the move as reconciliation: “I commit to working for forgiveness among Nigeriens…without conflicting with demands for justice.”
Since taking power, Niger’s junta has severed military ties with France and the U.S., withdrawn from ECOWAS, and deepened alliances with neighboring military regimes in Burkina Faso and Mali through the Russia-aligned Alliance of Sahel States (AES). The releases come as the junta consolidates power amid ongoing jihadist violence in the region.
