African Union In Emergency Meeting Over President Bazoum’s Detention

The African Union (AU) entered into an emergency meeting on Monday morning over the ongoing crisis in the Niger Republic following the ousting and detention of the democratically elected President Mohamed Bazou.

Recall that the military in Niger organized a coup and removed Bazoum from power on July 26, 2023.

The military government has since detained Bazoum and subsequently issued a death threat on the political leader.

However, AU, via its Twitter page on Monday morning, announced that the Peace and security council are meeting to contain the situation in Niger.

“AU’s Peace & Security Council meets to receive an update on the evolution of the situation in Niger and the efforts to address it,” the pan-African body posted on its microblogging platform handle.

Naija News understands that the meeting is being held at AU headquarters in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

Those attending include AU Commission chief Moussa Faki Mahamat as well as representatives from Niger and the West African bloc ECOWAS.

Recall that last week, Faki expressed “deep concern” at the reported poor conditions of Bazoum’s detention, calling his treatment at the hands of coup leaders “unacceptable.”

On Sunday, Niger’s military regime vowed to prosecute the democratically elected Bazoum for “high treason” and slammed ECOWAS for imposing sanctions on the country.

Bazoum, 63, and his family have been held at the president’s official Niamey residence since the coup.