Men in military fatigues claimed to have taken power in Niger hours after President Mohamed Bazoum was reportedly seized by members of the presidential guard on Wednesday, leading to protests in the capital.
In a video communique, a man identified as Colonel-Major Amadou Abdramane and flanked by several apparent soldiers, announced, “We have decided to put an end to the regime that you know,” citing a deteriorating security situation in the country and “poor economic and social governance.”
National institutions have been suspended and the country’s land borders are temporarily closed, he also said, appearing to read from a text on the table before him.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said earlier in the day that there had been an “attempt to seize power by force” in the West African country, in a statement on Wednesday.
“ECOWAS condemns in the strongest terms the attempt to seize power by force and calls on the coup plotters to free the democratically-elected President of the Republic immediately and without any condition,” the bloc added.
The situation prompted intense discussions between the country’s Presidential Guard and government authorities, a source close to the president told CNN. The source did not reveal what exactly was being discussed.
Niger’s presidential complex was sealed off Wednesday, with heavily armed members of the Presidential Guard assembling outside the Presidential Palace early that morning. Roughly twenty members of the Presidential Guard could be seen outside the palace complex later in the day.
A statement on the presidency’s social media channels said President Mohamed Bazoum is “doing well” and the army and national guard were “ready to attack the elements of the GP [Presidential Guard] involved in this fit of anger if they do not return to their better senses.” CNN cannot verify the statement.