Mohamed Bazoum: Nigeria calls for immediate release of deposed president of Niger

The Federal Government of Nigeria has again reiterated the call for the release of ousted Niger president Mohamed Bazoum while urging the military junta to allow him to leave the country.

As the current chair of the regional group Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, Nigeria has imposed sanctions on Niger following the July coup that removed Bazoum.

Speaking in an interview on local television, Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, said the Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration has been asking the junta to release the deposed president so that he will be allowed to leave Niger.

He said Nigeria and Nigeria may consider lifting some of the sanctions imposed on Niger if the junta frees Mr Bazoum to go to a country of his choice, while emphasising that the doors of negotiation are always open.

Leaders from the regional ECOWAS bloc will meet in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, later this week to discuss on the coups that have put military juntas in power in Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Niger.

Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau recently escaped attempted coups in what have been condemned by the ECOWAS and other members of the international community.