Deposed President Mohamed Bazoum of Niger is still being detained by the putschists.
One year ago, soldiers overthrew Niger's democratically elected government and took President Mohamed Bazoum hostage. At first, the 26 July 2023 coup resembled others that have roiled West Africa in recent years. But it took a different course.
After days of uncertainty, the commander of the country's presidential guard claimed the leadership of the West African nation in a televised address.
"We have decided to intervene and seize our responsibilities," coup leader Abdourahmane Tchiani said on state television while asserting power over the country.
Mr Tchiani said he would not bow to the pressure and had gone from being Mr Bazoum's protector to being his jailer. The junta's justifications for the coup include poor economic management and the deteriorating security situation under Mr Bazoum.
One year later, those challenges remain. Niger's economic and social indicators place it at the bottom of global development indices, as they were before the coup.
But some analysts said Niger experienced discernable progress in the decade before the coup under democratically elected Presidents Mahamadou Issoufou and Mr Bazoum. Now, many of those gains have been upended.
With tightening restrictions on the media and information space by the junta, the full extent of this deterioration is difficult to ascertain. This reversal in trajectory will have wider ramifications for the region given that this historically peaceful, landlocked country of 25 million people shares borders with seven neighbours, according to an analysis by the African Centre for Strategic Studies.
The coup was the latest military takeover in Africa. Five successful military takeovers have occurred in neighbouring Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso since 2020.
Since declaring himself head of state, Mr Tchiani's position has remained radical, making it difficult for the regional bloc ECOWAS to engage in dialogue.
Significant events after the coup
Mutinous soldiers detained Mr Bazoum at his official residence in the capital, Niamey. They announced they seized power in a coup because of the West African country's deteriorating security.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) issued an ultimatum to the coup leaders, threatening military intervention if Mr Bazoum was not returned to power in one week.
West African leaders then ordered the immediate deployment of a "standby force" ready to intervene against the putschists. ECOWAS also sent a delegation to Niger, led by former Nigerian military leader Abdulsalami Abubakar, to negotiate with the military government.Nigeria cut power to Niger during that period. The latter depends on Nigeria for 70 per cent of its power.
In a televised address, Mr Tchiani criticised sanctions imposed by West African leaders as "illegal" and "inhumane" and urged his countrymen to defend their nation.
ECOWAS member states suspended relations with Niger and closed their land and air borders with the country. The governments of Mali and Burkina Faso, both led by military coup leaders, issued a joint statement warning that an ECOWAS intervention in Niger could lead to a military response from their states.
The United States ordered all non-emergency government personnel to evacuate its embassy in Niger temporarily, Al Jazeera reported. Though detained, the deposed president, Mohamed Bazoum, was at first able to speak with world leaders, receive visitors and post defiant messages on social media. The guards keeping him under house arrest eventually confiscated his SIM card.
The putschists also ordered both French and US troops to leave the West African country. France has since announced the withdrawal of its troops from Niger and the US has also withdrawn most of its forces.
A group of Nigerian Islamic scholars who met Niger's coup leader announced that the general agreed to hold direct talks and resolve a standoff with West African leaders.
Niger's coup leader proposed a three-year transition of power after meeting a delegation of West African leaders and warned that any attack on the country would "not be a walk in the park" for those involved.
The African Union (AU) planned to send a joint mission with representatives of the United Nations and ECOWAS to Niger, but it was denied permission by the military government, according to media reports. Then the AU suspended Niger from its organs, institutions, and actions.
Fast forward to January 2024, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali announced they would leave ECOWAS, and on 24 February, ECOWAS lifted the sanctions on Niger.
Bazoum's treatment
Barely a month after the coup, the authorities announced plans to prosecute Mr Bazoum for "high treason" and undermining national security, but he has yet to be brought before a judge.
In September 2023, Mr Bazoum filed a lawsuit with the ECOWAS Court of Justice in Abuja, citing human rights violations against him and his family during his detention.
In December 2023, the ECOWAS Court ruled that Mr Bazoum was arbitrarily detained and called for his release, the AP reported.
In April 2024, the authorities initiated legal proceedings against Mr Bazoum to lift his presidential immunity so he could be prosecuted for alleged crimes committed after he was elected president in 2021.
On 14 June 2024, Niger's state court lifted the immunity following a proceeding that failed to meet basic due process and international fair trial standards, including the right to a defence, according to Amnesty International.
What has changed?
Niger is now engaged in a different strategic alliance. The military-run governments in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso announced the formation of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). They also signed a defence pact focused on the fight against "terrorism."
The three countries have continued to shun ECOWAS. None of the military leaders attended the 65th Ordinary Summit of the bloc this month.
Niger's military government hasn't openly disclosed how the country's army has faced security challenges.
Also, according to the Nigerien National Institute of Statistics (INS), in the months after the coup, the cost of some of the country's staple foods significantly rose; the price of rice and sorghum increased by more than 16 per cent, followed by wheat and maise (12 per cent), millet (6.4 per cent), and meat (5.2 per cent).
Despite Nigeria lifting the sanction on power supply, the Sahelian country still faced electricity shortages.
Similarly, a $400 million deal to start exporting Niger's crude oil to China via a 2,000km (1,243-mile) long pipeline linking Niger's Agadem oil field to Benin's port was delayed and jeopardised. Even after the bloc's sanctions were lifted, Benin's compliance with the land border closure paved the way for an ongoing feud between the two countries.
Military authorities have arbitrarily arrested at least 30 officials from the ousted government, including former ministers, members of the presidential cabinet, and people close to the deposed president. Amnesty International said they failed to grant them due process and fair trial rights.
Lawyers representing those arrested said that their clients were detained in secret by the intelligence services before being transferred to high-security prisons on trumped-up charges. At least four of them were granted bail in April, while all others were charged with "threatening state security," among other offences, before a military court, despite being civilians.
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"One year since the military coup, instead of a path toward respecting human rights and the rule of law, the military authorities are tightening their grip on the opposition, civil society, and independent media," Samira Daoud, Amnesty International's regional director for West and Central Africa, said in a statement.
"Niger's military authorities should release Bazoum as well as all those detained on politically motivated charges and ensure their due process rights."
Uncertainty ahead
For the people of Niger, the coup already seems irreversible. While many are opposed to the military takeover and do not believe the arguments put forward by the coup leaders, some hope for a new political beginning through a military-civilian transition that could create the conditions for more open and fair political competition at election time.
However, the experience of many countries on the continent shows that new military rulers quickly use transitional periods to their own advantage, transforming themselves into political actors and entrenching themselves in power by reproducing the same governance practices they loudly denounced in the past.
"Niger was on a promising economic path, with high economic growth rates from 2022 and ambitious reform and investment plans in education, an indisputable priority area for the country's future. That future is now uncertain," Gilles Yabi, a Nonresident Scholar at Carnegie Endowment Africa Programme, wrote.
