The former Niger President Mohamed Bazoum has been caught attempting to flee from custody in the wee night hours of Thursday, October 19.
Bazoum was pounced on while waiting for a helicopter to pick them up.
The Junta spokesperson Amadou Abdramane while confirming the failed attempt escape stated the ousted president was in the company of his family, cooks, and security.
“The ousted President Mohamed Bazoum and his family, his two cooks and two security elements, tried to escape from his place of detention,” said Amadou.
Bazoum Accomplice Arrest
Similarly, the junta spokesperson added that the escape bid failed and that other accomplices had been arrested.
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“The main actors and some of the accomplices were arrested,” added Amadou.
On the other part the Junta while addressing the unprecedent incident on the national television gave an elaborate plan the ousted president had laid out.
“The plan involved Mr Bazoum getting to a hideout on the outskirts of the capital Niamey,” Abdramane said.
Additionally, the Junta while denouncing Bazoum’s irresponsible act noted that the team had planned to fly out on helicopters “belonging to a foreign power,” towards Nigeria.
Niger Junta Takeover
Worth noting, the Niger military overthrew the democratically elected president in a coup on July 26.
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Hence since late July, Bazoum has been under house arrest after members of his presidential guard staged the coup.
Likewise, despite his captivity the man has refused to officially resign and hand over power.
Niger military junta while taking over the government cited the worsening security situation as a reason for their uprising.
According to the military, the growing unrest led to harsh military crackdowns to solve the problem, justifying the popular support for the coup.
Saharan Coups
However, Niger seemed better with handling the insecurity instability as compared to its neighbours.
It is however not clear that a military junta would have greater success in tackling the insurgents than the recently ousted government.
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Moreover, the military takeover in Niger mirrored similar coups in neighboring countries like Burkina Faso and Mali, amid an Islamist insurgency.
Likewise, the takeovers in neighboring countries have not made much difference.
Strategically, Niger hosts French and US military bases and is seen as a key partner in the fight against Islamist insurgents.
Similarly, upon his house detention, the US President Joe Biden called for him to be “immediately released”, and for the “preservation of Niger’s hard-earned democracy”.
However, the Junta ignored demands for the president’s freedom.
