West Africa court orders reinstatement of ousted Niger leader Bazoum

A West African court ruled on Friday that the ousted president of Niger, Mohamed Bazoum, and his family were arbitrarily detained and called for a return to democratic rule through his reinstatement.

Bazoum was toppled during a military coup on July 26. He and his family have since been in detention without access to running water or electricity, according to his party and relatives.

The coup was widely condemned, led to sanctions from the Economic Community of West Africa States (Ecowas), and prompted widespread calls for Bazoum's release and a return to democratic rule.

Bazoum and his family referred their case to the Ecowas Court of Justice in September, his lawyers said.

Judge Gberi-Be Ouattara ordered the junta to re-establish constitutional order by reinstating Bazoum, and called for his immediate and unconditional release.

The junta did not immediately react to the verdict.

Bazoum, his wife and son are being held in the presidential residence in the capital Niamey, his lawyers say. They have not been allowed to meet a magistrate or informed about any legal proceedings against them.

Mohamed Seydou Diagne, one of Bazoum's lawyers, said in a joint statement that the ruling was a "historic" legal condemnation of Niger's self-appointed military rulers.

The Ecowas Court of Justice is the regional body's main jurisdiction and its decisions cannot be appealed. It has given the junta one month to communicate on how it will execute the order, the lawyers said.

Niger's coup followed two each in neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso over the past three years, leaving a swath of territory in the hands of military governments that have moved to distance themselves from former colonial ruler France and other Western allies.

At a summit in Nigeria on Sunday, Ecowas set up a committee of heads of state was set up to negotiate with Niger's junta.

Niger junta agrees plan to restore democracy, Togo minister says

Niger's military leaders have agreed a plan for restoring democratic rule which will be presented to regional bloc Ecowas for approval, Togo's foreign minister Robert Dussey said.

Dussey went to Niger to negotiate with the junta on behalf of Ecowas, which is pushing for a quick return to constitutional order after military officers seized power in a coup in July.

"We had an enriching work session with the prime minister and the minister of foreign affairs of Niger. We worked and agreed on the content and timing of the transition," Dussey said on Niger state television late on Thursday.

"We are going to present this to the heads of states who are mediators and the Ecowas Commission in the hope that in January, the timeline expected by Ecowas will be known," he said, standing next to his Nigerien counterpart.

He did not give further details on what had been agreed.

Ecowas, West Africa's main economic and political bloc, decided at a summit in Nigeria on Sunday to set up a committee of leaders from Togo, Sierra Leone and Benin to engage the Niger junta to agree "on a short transition roadmap".

The bloc said it would progressively ease sanctions on Niger based on the outcome of those talks.

A top US diplomat this week said the United States was prepared to resume security and development cooperation with Niger if the junta took steps toward restoring democracy. Niger's ruling military council, led by Gen Abdourahamane Tiani, ousted Bazoum in what was the eighth such takeover in West and Central Africa since 2020.