Niger’s coup-makers give Finance Minister 48-hrs to account for stolen cash

Soldiers in the West African nation of Niger have given the Finance minister of the government that they deposed, 48 hours to account for “stolen money” or he will be put to the stakes.

The Finance minister in a video that has gone viral was seen weeping miserably before the cameras, at which time he was to address the media on matters arising.

While the military intervention has been decried by world leaders, including the West African regional body ECOWAS, the coup that deposed President Bazzoum had been hailed by wider sections of the country’s population.

The coup-makers are unfazed by the cacophony outside Niger’s borders as they marshal their coercive authority to achieve the supposed objectives of their action. Talk or you die, that is the caveat posed to the Finance minister by the soldiers.

Niger’s latest coup de tat has underscored she is the most prone to such instabilities, and this also highlights the political volatility, and its paradoxical nature within a subregion of shrill rhetorics about democracy.

Niger’s new leader meets govt officials

Niger’s new military leader has met with members of the government on Friday for the first time since Wednesday coup.

The meeting took place at the presidential palace in the capital, Niamey, after General Abdourahamane Tchiani, head of the Presidential Guard since 2011, was declared the country’s new leader replacing former President Mohamed Bazoum.

On Thursday, the UN insisted it was still providing humanitarian assistance to the country although aid flights were suspended due to the security situation.

The UN’s representative in the country appealed for the release of President Bazoum.

Humanitarian assistance to Niger has increased from 1,9 million people in 2017 to 4,3 million in 2023, according to the UN’s OCHA.

“In 2023, before this political crisis, Niger had 4.3 million people in humanitarian need, with 3.3 million in acute food insecurity, the majority of whom are women and children. So we want here also to reinforce the humanitarian appeal to all our partners to further support the humanitarian response in Niger, which to date is only 32 percent funded”, said Nicole Kouassi, United Nations Development Programme representative in Niger.