Two years after Niger coup, human rights situation has 'spiralled'

The coup in Niger of 26 July, 2023 destabilised the Sahel region, and West Africa as a whole. Two years on, human rights activists say the situation has worsened and continue to call for the release of former president Mohamed Bazoum.

Two years on from the coup in Niger that saw the military junta seize power, NGOs have condemned the failure to produce a roadmap towards democracy – and the degradation of human rights in the country.

On 26 July, 2023, Nigerien army officers of the self-proclaimed National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP), led by General Abdourahamane Tiani, overthrew Bazoum’s government and arrested him and his wife, Hadiza Bazoum.

Bazoum was elected in 2021, taking the helm of a country mired in poverty and with a history of instability.

The landlocked Sahel state has experienced four coups since its independence from France in 1960, as well as numerous other attempts on power, but the 2023 events changed Niger's alliances and political stance radically.

Jeffrey Smith, executive director of  the pro-democracy think tank Vanguard Africa, told RFI: "As expected, the human rights situation in Niger – like other Sahelian countries under military control – has unequivocally spiralled. Civic space has shrunk considerably and violations of civil and political rights, like arbitrary detention, for example, have become the norm."

"Whereas the human rights situation had steadily improved under President Bazoum, the military junta, over the past two years, has significantly eroded progress and taken the country backwards," Smith added.

Calls for Bazoum's release

Meanwhile, Bazoum has remained in detention since the coup.

He and his wife are in custody at the presidential palace in the capital, Niamey, with no access to family members or lawyers. Bazoum also faces an impending trial after the ruling junta lifted his presidential immunity in 2024.

Rights groups have been calling for his liberation, including Human Rights Watch.

“Niger’s military junta demonstrates its contempt for the rule of law every day it detains former President Bazoum and his wife,” said Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Sahel researcher at Human Rights Watch, in a statement. “His politically motivated detention and prosecution discredit any junta claims to a more democratic Niger.”

In August 2023, the junta announced plans to prosecute Bazoum for “high treason” and undermining national security but never brought him before a judge for preliminary hearings.

A "Free Bazoum campaign" was launched earlier this year with a website and messages to the international community.

"As it stands today, President Bazoum and his wife are being held hostage by a wholly unaccountable, unelected military regime, and this is actually the core of the problem," Smith – one of the key members of the Free Bazoum campaign – told RFI.

A call to end his detention was also signed this week by the Platform for African Democrats (PAD), a gathering of leaders championing democracy and accountability.

"The continued detention of President Mohamed Bazoum is a chilling reminder of the deteriorating state of democracy in Niger and the broader Sahel region, and its costs to human rights, the rule of law and governance," the group wrote in a statement.

'Hope for freedom'

"The junta fears all that Bazoum represents, which is democratic legitimacy," Smith said.

"This is something military authorities will never have nor achieve. Nevertheless, there remains hope for freedom. I think the increasing calls and pressure for his unconditional release – including from the African Union chairperson and a growing number of former African presidents – will ultimately move this situation towards a positive resolution."

In September, Bazoum filed a petition with the Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), citing violations of human rights against him and his family during his detention.

In December 2024, the Ecowas court ruled that he was being arbitrarily detained and called for his release.

In February this year, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, an independent body which investigates deprivation of liberty, also found that the detention of Bazoum and his wife was arbitrary, in violation of international human rights law, and called for their immediate release.

The treatment of Bazoum is emblematic of a military junta that has cracked down on the political opposition, peaceful dissent and the media, and that appears to intend to solidify its power, delaying a transition to civilian rule and credible, free and fair elections, according to Human Rights Watch.

“Each day Bazoum spends in detention moves Niger further away from a democratic path,” Allegrozzi added. “Two years on, Niger’s authorities should reconsider what type of message his continued detention sends across the region and the world.”

Since the coup, the military leaders of Niger have joined fellow ruling juntas in Mali and Burkina Faso to sign a mutual defence pact, and in January 2025, the three Sahelian states formally withdrew from Ecowas.