ALGIERS, Sept 21 (KUNA) -- Niger's detained President Mohammad Bazoum on Thursday appealed to the court of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to be released and his status as president restored.
This comes on the backdrop of an army coup that overthrew him in July.
Local news quoted Senegalese lawyer Seydou Diagne as saying that his client demands in his lawsuit to oblige Niger to immediately restore the constitutional order by handing over the power back to President Bazoum, until the end of his term on April 2, 2026.
The lawsuit, filed before ECOWAS Court on September 18, invokes Bazoum's wife Aziza, his son Salem and his arbitrary arrest and violation of freedom of movement, Diagne said.
He stressed that Bazoum, his wife and son, who have been detained in the presidential palace since the coup, are victims of human rights violations, and that his clients have the right to resort to the competent courts.
On July 26, the Nigerian presidency announced that members of the presidential guard detained Bazoum and his family inside the palace, while the coup leader General Abderrahmane Chiani, announced removing the president, closing borders and imposing curfew, and that he would head the transitional military council in the country.
Bazoum was elected in 2021 to be the first Arab president of the coups-plagued Niger since its 1960 independence from France. (end) mr.seo