On November 1, the public prosecutor at the Niamey Court of Appeal confirmed that there had been an escape attempt by President Mohamed Bazoum on October 18. But gave no details.
The ECOWAS Court of Justice had on November 21 examined Niger’s complaint against the regional organization, which imposed sanctions following the coup d’état.
“There is no sector of the Nigerien society that has not been affected by these sanctions according to Younkaila Yaye, one of the government’s lawyers
The government asked the court to relax the sanctions pending the final judgement. But ECOWAS protested against their request.
Mohamed Bazoum is the fifth Nigerien president to be overthrown by a putsch since the country gained independence from France in 1960.
The first president, Hamani Diori, overthrown in 1974, was imprisoned and then placed under house arrest for several years before being released in 1987.