Keypoints:
- Bazoum’s presidency ends after nearly three years in detention
- Legal uncertainty deepens under junta rule and suspended constitution
- International pressure has failed to secure his release
NEARLY three years after a military coup, Niger’s ousted president Mohamed Bazoum remains in detention as his elected mandate expires on April 2, raising fresh questions over legality, governance, and the balance of power in the Sahel state.
Bazoum, 66, was elected in April 2021 with 55 percent of the vote in what was widely seen as a landmark democratic transition in Niger. That transition collapsed on July 26, 2023, when a military junta led by General Abdourahamane Tiani seized power and suspended the constitution.
Since then, Bazoum and his wife have been held inside the presidential palace in Niamey under tightly controlled conditions, cut off from regular contact with the outside world.
Legal limbo and political stalemate
As Bazoum’s official term ends, Niger faces a deepening constitutional crisis. With democratic institutions dismantled and no elections held, the country is caught between competing legal systems—one rooted in the suspended constitution and another imposed by the military—leaving Bazoum’s status and Niger’s political future uncertain.
Lawyers contest end of mandate
Bazoum’s legal team argues that the expiration of his term should not be recognised, given he has been unable to exercise presidential authority since the coup.
‘His term was interrupted and did not resume,’ said Moussa Coulibaly, a member of Bazoum’s legal team, according to AFP. ‘If he returns to power, the period of detention should not count in the exercise of his duties.’
The claim reflects a broader dispute over legitimacy in Niger’s post-coup order. Political researcher Valery Ntwali said Bazoum’s legal authority effectively ended when the junta suspended the constitution.
Junta entrenches control
Following the coup, Niger’s military rulers introduced a new charter in March 2024, replacing the constitution and granting themselves a renewable five-year transition period. No timeline for elections has been confirmed.
The junta has aligned itself with neighbouring military governments in Mali and Burkina Faso, reinforcing a regional shift explored efforts to manage the growing Sahel political divide.
Relations with France remain strained, particularly after the withdrawal of French troops from Niger, detailed in France’s military exit from the country.
International pressure falls short
Western governments and international institutions have repeatedly called for Bazoum’s release, but those appeals have yielded little progress.
Earlier this month, the European Parliament adopted a resolution demanding his immediate release, triggering protests in Niamey and criticism from Sahelian military governments.
The European Union continues to fund development and security programmes in Niger, including efforts to counter jihadist violence—a persistent regional threat examined in rising extremist attacks across West Africa. However, its influence appears limited in the face of the junta’s defiance.
Detention without resolution
Despite Bazoum’s presidential immunity being lifted in 2024, his lawyers say there is little indication that a trial is imminent.
Instead, they argue the junta’s priority is strategic rather than legal.
‘For the junta, it is less a question of law than security,’ said lawyer Mohamed Seydou Diagne. ‘They see him as leverage in case of external intervention.’
That assessment aligns with earlier reporting that the junta is effectively using Bazoum and his wife as political shields against foreign pressure, as detailed in Africa Briefing’s investigation into his prolonged detention .
Nearly three years on, Bazoum remains confined under the same conditions, with limited access beyond medical visits and no clear pathway to legal resolution.
Uncertain path ahead
With his mandate now formally over, Bazoum’s case highlights the broader instability gripping Niger—a country navigating competing claims of legitimacy, shifting alliances, and an unresolved struggle between democratic governance and military authority.
What happens next will likely depend less on constitutional arguments and more on political negotiation, both within Niger and among its international partners. For now, Bazoum’s continued detention stands as a symbol of a crisis that remains far from resolved.
