The ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Ambassador Abdel-Fatau Musah, says the deposed Niger president Mohamed Bazoum and his son in the custody of the country’s coup leaders are living under terrible conditions.
The ECOWAS official claimed that Bazoum has been denied access to his regular diet and medical care by the junta.
Musah made this revelation while featuring as a guest on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday in response to claims that the coupists had threatened to assassinate Bazoum in the case of an ECOWAS military intervention.
“We are going there, if need be, to rescue President Bazoum who is living in very terrible conditions today. He is being denied medical attention, he’s being denied even access to his usual food,” he said.
“His son, who is also in detention, has lost so many kilos already. They are being held in these inhumane conditions and we cannot just sit back idle and depend on the goodwill of these people who are disrupting the democratic process in the country.”
Heads of State in the regional bloc came together on Thursday for an extraordinary summit held in Abuja to deliberate on approaches to end the crisis in Niger, opting to maintain the diplomatic route with military force still on the table.
“Yesterday’s communique also made it very clear that this junta will pay dearly if anything happens to the safety, security, or the physical integrity of Bazoum, his family, or members of his government. That was clearly done,” Musah said.
“We are not going to hold back because they are holding the president hostage. If they dare, if they should harm in any way, then they are going to pay very dearly for that. So, this is a tactic.”
