President of Niger must be immediately released: OIC

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation has demanded the immediate release of Niger’s democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum, who has been detained following a coup d’état.

Bazoum has not been heard from since early Thursday when he was confined within the presidential palace, although the EU, France and others say they still recognize him as the legitimate president.

Hissein Brahim Taha, the organization’s chief, said on Saturday he was following with deep concern the developments in Niger, an OIC member. He strongly condemned any attempt to seize power by force, stressing Bazoum’s safety and need to restore the rule of law in the country.

The African Union has issued a 15-day ultimatum to the junta in Niger to reinstall the government just as the coup leaders met with senior civil servants to discuss how they would run the country and as the US and the European Union threatened sanctions against the regime.

Brig. Gen. Mohamed Toumba, one of the soldiers who ousted Bazoum, told state television that the junta met civil servants on Friday and asked them to continue their work as usual following the suspension of the constitution.

“The message given was not to stop the processes underway, to keep on with things,” said Brig. Gen. Toumba.

The US threatened to halt its economic support to Niger while the EU announced the immediate indefinite suspension of budgetary support and security assistance.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who is in Australia as part of a Pacific tour, estimated America’s economic and security partnership with Niger at hundreds of millions of dollars and said its continuity depends on “the continuation of the democratic governance and constitutional order.”

Blinken said: “So that assistance, that support, is in clear jeopardy as a result of these actions, which is another reason why they need to be immediately reversed.”

While there are no signs of the junta backing down amid growing international pressure, analysts called for synergy in the interventions of the international community and continental organizations such as the AU and the regional bloc of ECOWAS, which is scheduled to meet over the coup on Sunday.