Gen. Tchiani, the commander of Niger’s presidential guards unit, became head of state on July 28 following his appointment by the governing council set up by military forces that ousted President Mohamed Bazoum Photo: rfi.fr
An ECOWAS delegation to Niger has met ousted President Mohamed Bazoum and also held talks with the junta leader, General Abdourahmane Tchiani.
Around noon on Saturday, the delegation arrived Niamey, a day after military chiefs in West Africa disclosed they were on standby for a possible intervention to reinstate Bazoum.
Aljazeera reports that, Niger’s governing military council confirmed the arrival of the ECOWAS representatives, led by former Nigeria’s leader Abdulsalami Abubakar.
Since his ousting, this was the first time Bazoum was allowed to be seen by foreign officials.
“We met Bazoum, we heard from him what was done to him. He told us about the problems he’s facing… without doubt, the meeting has opened discussions to lead to a way to resolve this crisis”, Abdulsalami Abubakar said.
The delegation also met with Tchiani on Saturday, but there was no disclosure as to what was discussed.
Meanwhile, some Nigérien youths in Kano had a march in solidary with the stance of ECOWAS demanding the reinstating of Mohamed Bazoum whose government was disrupted following a coup d’état in July.
Writing by Muzha Kucha